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Dress Codes at Work

Workplace Dress Codes and Employment Law

Because styles and new thinking about what’s acceptable attire in the workplace are ever changing, HR professionals continue to struggle with dress codes. Expectations of professional appearance differ among, and even, within professions. Some HR pros have found that allowing supervisors or department heads the ability to establish and enforce dress codes works better than […]

Dropbox’s Layoffs Illustrate Shifting Skills Demands Among Employers

The growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to fundamentally disrupt the labor market, but not necessarily or always in the way most casual observers might assume. While AI and other technologies always have the potential to displace human workers, in many (if not most) cases, the motivation is actually to complement human […]

performance

How Does Continuous Performance Management Work

In a previous post, we discussed the results of the State of Continuous Performance Management Survey. The survey results showed significant reductions in some of the negative impacts of only performing annual reviews when companies instead utilized what is known as continuous performance management.

Race Bias: EEOC Sues Employer Over Rap Music in Workplace

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued Novellus Systems, Inc., based in San Jose, charging that the company fired African-American employee Michael Cooke because he complained about having to listen to a co-worker’s rap music, which contained racially offensive lyrics. The lawsuit alleges that Cooke complained to his supervisors that a co-worker played […]

2 Essential Steps Before Talking to Your Boss About Your Mental Health

You’re tired and stressed and would rather not be at work. Depending on what you’re dealing with, be it family-related issues at home or your own personal mental health needs, if it’s interfering with your day-to-day ability to successfully complete your responsibilities at work, you have several decisions to make. First and foremost is how […]

FAMILY

Tips to Navigating the Hiring of Family and Friends

It’s frequent in companies of all sizes—but especially for privately held companies—for owners or managers to hire friends and family. In previous posts, we discussed some reasons for this and also talked about some of the dangers of nepotism in the workplace.

Keeping it real: litigation insights from ‘Making a Murderer’

It’s mid-January, and I’m sitting in my office writing this post while snow falls outside. (Yes, we get snow in South Carolina and, yes, it terrifies us.) The snow, however, reminds me of the frozen northern Wisconsin landscapes featured in my latest binge-watching favorite, Netflix’s Making a Murderer.  If you’ve not seen it yet, Making a Murderer […]

The 10 Most Costly Management Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them

“It’s a case of perception vs. reality. The plaintiff perceives he (she) was disciplined, retaliated against, and harassed.  The reality is different. He (she) was terminated for a legitimate, non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory reason by a professional, well-trained manager with supportive documentation.” Jurors are never on the side of the employers, says Zandy, who is with the […]

Supreme Court

Supreme Court Stays OSHA ETS Rule, Allows CMS Mandate to Move Forward

Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decisions about the COVID-19 vaccine mandates issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for employers with at least 100 employees, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for healthcare workers. In a 6-3 decision, the Court reimposed a “stay” (or hold) on […]