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Getting Strategic in 2016

By Holly Jones, JD, Senior Legal Editor Yesterday we heard from BLR® Senior Legal Editor Holly Jones, JD, who had some excellent tips on getting your goals strategically oriented for 2016. Today, more from Jones on setting and accomplishing strategic goals, posters in the workplace, and other HR housekeeping. Refinable Goals Refinable goals are those […]

Verbal COBRA Notice Is Sufficient, Says Court in Ruling for Employer

In a decision that overlooked key COBRA guidance, a federal district court ruled that an employer/plan administrator fulfilled its notice obligation by verbally providing a notice of COBRA rights and accepting premium payments — which apparently the qualified beneficiary had to pay a few days after her employment termination. In dismissing a COBRA notice claim, […]

Friend or foe: illegal or inappropriate interview questions

by Michelle Dougherty Asking illegal or inappropriate interview questions is one of the easiest ways for an employer to create a risk for discrimination claims. It isn’t unusual for polite, friendly, personal, non-job-specific conversation to be part of the interview process. However, when conducting an interview, you must always be aware that even indirect or […]

Be Prepared for The Worst Case Scenario – Workplace Violence

With workplace violence attacks becoming more prevalent in the US, organizations need to be prepared for worst-case scenarios. Attacks in the workplace average three deaths and up to 12 injuries per attack, and lawsuits average $500,000 with jury awards averaging $3 million. Worse yet, the loss of friends and colleagues in the workplace is devastating…and […]

FMLA— HR’s Own Personal Migraine

FMLA—HR’s own personal migraine. (Migraine people, says attorney Stacie Caraway, may have terrible headaches, but never so bad that they don’t know exactly how many days and hours of FMLA they have left.) Successful management of FMLA is very much about careful attention to forms and schedules. In today’s Advisor, Caraway offers tips for getting […]

Employer Liability: Injuries To Employees’ Unborn Children; Safeguarding Your Workers And Yourself

If a pregnant employee is injured at work and her baby is born with health defects or problems, you could get blamed. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to take preventive measures to protect a fetus from harm because some approaches that might seem sensible are actually illegal. We’ll look at a new case involving a […]

Get Your Safety Committees Committed!

Does this scenario look uncomfortably familiar? If so, here are several actions you can take to get your safety committee excited, involved—and committed—to complementing and strengthening workplace safety and training. Safety Planning If you don’t already have a safety program, or you have one but need to update it, you can use your safety committee […]

Pressure To Resign Following Postpartum Depression? Bad Idea

A spa director sued for pregnancy discrimination after she allegedly was pressured to resign following her leave for postpartum depression. The employer asked the court to compel arbitration in accordance with an arbitration provision in the employment application. Was the arbitration agreement enforceable?