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Wild Thing, I Think I Loathe You

Dan read the following timely column by California Employment Law Letter editor Mark Schickman and thought Oswald Letter readers would enjoy it. Dan will be taking off next week but will return to his weekly column the following week. by Mark Schickman You’ve got an employee, Charlie, who has always been a wild thing. Too […]

Are You Getting the Biggest Return for Your Training Bucks?

  Safety training is one of those areas where shaving service or quality can have a seriously negative impact. For one thing, training your workers is your duty under the law. And whether you’re regulated by OSHA, MSHA, DOT, EPA, or state and local entities, the results of noncompliance can be significant. What’s more, not […]

Court Finds Used Car Salesman’s FMLA Claim No Laughing Matter

By Kelly Smith-Haley, JD “A used car sales manager walks into a hospital.”  No, that’s not the start of a joke. It’s the start of Terry Baier’s claim against his former employer, Rohr-Mont Motors, for violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This recent case from the federal district court in Illinois reminds […]

retirement

Survey Cites Service Providers’ Uncertainty Over Fiduciary Rule, Next Steps

By Jane Meacham Retirement plan service providers likely will face the most need to change business models among those affected by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final fiduciary rule issued in early April. Although adoption of the regulation is more than a year away, many respondents to an industry survey quickly registered confusion, and […]

Coworkers Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are dating! What could possibly go wrong?

Last week, the Internet was abuzz with the news that Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, who work together as judges on The Voice, have begun dating. Workplace relationships, though fraught with hazard for HR professionals, are incredibly common, with 80 percent of employees reporting that they have been involved in, or have heard of, coworkers […]

If Bill Cosby is wearing a garish sweater, this must be 1980s TV!

A few weeks ago, I saw a news story about how the last of the baby boomers are turning 50 in 2014. “Wow, that’s old,” I thought, until I realized that I’m 53. Then, as if I needed any further reminders of my elder statesmanship, one of the legal assistants in our office, a 20-something, […]

5 Ways to Create Fluid Talent in Your Company

Fluid talent is an approach to career planning that allows—and even encourages—employees to take control of their careers and move between different positions and departments. Companies can increase employee retention and appeal to prospective employees by employing fluid talent in their career pathways. Here’s how HR can facilitate fluid talent in their organizations.

7th Cir. Rejects FMLA Claim that Supervisor Exacerbated Illness

Alleging that a supervisor exacerbated an employee’s pre-existing health condition is not a valid theory of liability under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The issue of serious health conditions covered by the FMLA causes human resources professionals some confusion. But as the 7th Circuit’s decision in […]

Wyoming

Disabilities: Employers Must Listen Carefully to Requests for Accommodations

By Teresa Shulda, JD Sometimes it seems obvious that certain jobs require certain abilities. For example, pilots must have good vision to fly planes. And firefighters must be physically able to rescue people from burning buildings. But with other jobs, the job qualifications aren’t so obvious. That means the interactive dialogue between employers and employees […]