Most Popular

ABC, Kelly Ripa, Michael Strahan, and lessons on parting ways with key employees

What Kelly Ripa lacks in size, she makes up for in attitude. At just 5’3″, the petit daytime talk show star measures but a fraction of the size of her former co-host, Michael Strahan, himself a former New York Giants defensive end and Super Bowl champion. But Ripa’s actions since news broke of Strahan’s planned departure from Live! for a […]

Just What the Doctor Ordered—Love Boat Leave

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted to help employees take leave for their own serious health conditions or to care for a close family member with a serious health condition. Although the intent of the law is good, abuse of FMLA does occur—and sometimes in some unique ways. Consider the case of […]

pretext

Employer’s Winning Defense: Police Sergeant Was Undeserving and Disliked

A federal court in Rhode Island recently rejected a sergeant’s claim that the Providence Police Department’s (PPD) failure to promote him to lieutenant was illegally based on disability discrimination. The court found the employment decision was based in part on the chief of police’s conclusion that the sergeant was undeserving of the promotion and wasn’t […]

Michael and Holly, Sitting in a Tree

Litigation Value: A narrow escape from Michael burning the office down (twice) and, as always, plenty of lost productivity while the employees held a garage sale, played “Dallas” and helped Michael propose to Holly. Since last night’s “Office” was another rerun, I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about the “Garage Sale” episode. […]

Armed With the Facts: What to Know About ‘Parking Lot Laws’

Q           In instances of reasonable suspicion or when it relates to the company’s workplace violence policy prohibiting the possession of weapons, are we allowed to search an employee’s vehicle on company property, and can we add this to our employment policy? Like most legal answers, it depends. In recent years, many states have passed what are […]

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide

Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky. An HR professional’s role is more than a legal one. You are often your company’s voice. And to help your company find its voice, you should read Why Business People […]

Is Your Burnout Mitigation Strategy Leaving Frontline Managers Behind?

Recently, HR leaders have been taking more seriously how mental health and employee satisfaction influence retention and productivity. Detailed analytics have quantified the high cost of turnover (one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary or more), demonstrating burnout’s damaging effects on businesses as well as employees. While managers are more on the lookout for […]

Outsourcing—Attractive Solution, But …

From payroll issues to retirement plans, employers must navigate complex legal technicalities to stay compliant with ever-changing laws. For many small- to mid-sized businesses, this can be a heavy burden to bear.   More and more companies are opting to outsource tasks, roles, and even whole departments. This can have many advantages, such as: Saving […]

HR Policies–Who’s Got What? And How Do You Measure Up?

Please participate in our brief survey, and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: What policies do you have? Which ones will you update? Who develops your HR policies? How involved is HR? What sources do you use? How […]