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Portland, Oregon, latest to adopt mandatory sick leave law

by Calvin L. Keith Portland, Oregon, has become just the fourth U.S. city to require that employers provide sick leave. The new ordinance goes into effect January 1, 2014. Here is a brief summary. Who is covered? Any employee who works more than 240 hours per year in Portland is covered. The law includes anyone […]

Final pay obligations in California: Payment timing and penalties

Final pay laws are strict in some states, and the penalties add up very quickly for employers who do not pay in time. With the clock ticking to deliver that final paycheck, it’s crucial for employers to understand their obligations so they can stay in compliance. The best way to avoid costly errors is to […]

DEIB Starts at the Job Posting

In the bustling marketplace of job opportunities, where companies vie for top talent, the job posting stands as the initial handshake—an introduction that can either captivate or repel potential candidates. But beyond the standard qualifications and responsibilities, there lies a deeper layer—one that speaks to the heart of organizational culture and values. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, […]

The Resume is NOT Dead, but it Needs to Evolve

In what has been heralded as “the death of the resume,” a post on X by Elon Musk advised applicants for engineering jobs at his Dojo 3 AI chip project to forgo submitting resumes and simply provide, “3 bullet points on the toughest technical problems you’ve solved.” The reality is that resumes have continually been […]

Termination Danger—4 More Sins

Boss: Documentation, schmockumentation; this guy’s a poor performer and I want him gone today. The trouble with this scenario—terminating with no backup evidence of poor performance—is that there is usually documentation that shows good performance. Typically, since the person hasn’t been terminated before, his or her performance reviews read “good” or “satisfactory.” Now, this is […]

Should You Use an Outside Recruiter to Fill an Open Position?

With the unemployment rate hovering at just over 4%, employers across the country are finding it difficult to fill positions with qualified workers. The situation becomes even more complex when you consider that simply having the right experience and education isn’t usually enough today. Today’s employers also want employees who fit with the company culture. […]

Unions: How Far Can We Go in Discouraging a Union Drive?

We’ve gotten word that a union is going to try to organize our manufacturing arm’s workers. I’m not sure what to tell the managers and supervisors about how far they can go to encourage their workers to reject the union. Can you give some general guidelines? — Thomas T., HR Manager in Berkeley

Practice What You Hope to Never Need

Violence struck at the heart of the Arizona legal community this summer. Over two days in early June, gunshots rang out at a law firm and the offices of two mental health professionals who often serve as court witnesses. For several days while the shooter remained at large, legal workplaces in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and surrounding […]

A Look at Some Hard-Hit Job Functions

Amid all the talk about the Great Resignation and general labor market turmoil, it’s easy to forget that high labor demand is no longer applicable across all job functions and industry segments. Recruiters facing labor shortages in certain industries might want to consider expanding their search to include candidates from nontraditional backgrounds. Job Shortages May […]

AI

Don’t Think of AI Advancement as an Arms Race

In the Dr. Seuss tale The Butter Battle Book, a farcical tale is told of two antagonistic neighbors—the Yooks and the Zooks—who enter into an arms race and go to war over a disagreement about whether to eat bread with the butter side up or down.