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Sixth Circuit Overturns $2.8M ERISA Award for Unjust Enrichment

Simply paying an aggrieved plan participant for unpaid benefits due was enough to make him whole under ERISA, so no further money damages were warranted as a form of equitable relief, a federal appeals court has ruled. With this conclusion, a majority of the full en banc 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling […]

Sign on Dotted Line: Arbitration Agreement Enforceability Against Predecessor Company

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently vacated a September 2020 trial court order dismissing a former employee’s lawsuit and compelling him to arbitrate his Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) claims against his former employer’s predecessor. In so doing, the appellate court found the trial court must first determine whether the arbitration agreement was binding on […]

When Hiring Plans Change Overnight 

It usually starts with a Slack message, followed by an urgent and unexpected executive team meeting: the hiring plan is being reversed. Budgets are being revisited, and active roles are being put on hold. Within hours, you’re expected to pause candidate searches, reassess headcount, manage risk, and help leaders communicate decisions that are still taking shape. This […]

Mentoring: Capture the Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Effect

When legendary songster Tony Bennett collaborated with pop starlet Lady Gaga last year, the partnership seemed unlikely, if not a little crazy. Sixty years and more than a few musical genres, after all, separate the two.

benefits

PBGC Single-Employer Program Shows Improvement; Multi-Employer Program Faces Insolvency

The balance sheet for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) single-employer plan moved into the black in the latest fiscal year (FY) to continue a trend of better results, but the multiemployer plan remains in deficit and at risk of insolvency in as few as 7 years, according to the agency’s FY 2018 Annual Report.

Compensation Committees: New Challenges Ahead

In September, a judge rejected a $33 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America that it deemed unfair to stockholders. The settlement related to bonus payments to Merrill Lynch executives at the time of Bank of America’s acquisition of the firm. The rejection was another indication to Scott Landau that […]

Dogs on Duty

We’ve featured several dog-related workplace stories in the HR Strange but True! column. Some of our favorites happen to be about employed canines like Bailey the Beagle, who came to the rescue during the bed bug panic. Thanks to the Hartford Courant, which recently posted a slideshow highlighting 24 dogs at work, we are able […]

Challenges of E-Learning and How to Circumvent Them (Part 1)

According to Orbis Research, the global e-learning market is expected to reach $275.10 billion by 2022 and is growing at a rapid rate. E-learning is growing at a rapid rate because it’s cost-effective, accessible, flexible, scalable, and offers measurable data about programs, as well as data about learners and their learning progress. However, e-learning (learning […]

Employer Has More Latitude than Police to Search Teacher’s Porn-Laden Laptop

By Maria Giagilitsis and Brian Smeenk In a decision released earlier this week, the highest court in Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, issued a surprising ruling on workplace privacy law. The case involved criminal charges against a teacher accused of possession of child pornography. The court said the employee has a reasonable expectation of privacy […]