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Can Individual Managers Be Held Liable for Wrongful Discharge? The Answer May Surprise You

By Jonathan Mook Virtually all states recognize a common law tort claim of wrongful discharge in violation of a state’s established public policy. In most instances, a lawsuit alleging such a claim is brought solely against the plaintiff’s former employer. But may a suit be brought not only against the employer, but also against the […]

Bonuses and Overtime—One of the Most Frequent Failures in Comp

Bonuses Included in Overtime Calculations? Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), bonus payments are divided into discretionary and nondiscretionary types. Nondiscretionary bonuses are included in an employee’s regular rate of pay for the purpose of determining overtime, while discretionary bonuses are not included in an employee’s regular rate of pay to determine overtime. […]

transparency

The Business Case for Transparency

Pay transparency in private sectors is a divisive topic. Employers worry that implementing full pay transparency—allowing every employee to view what his or her colleagues earn—in the workplace will foster resentment among team members and limit employers’ bargaining power in recruitment.

How to Keep Older Workers Engaged on the Job

There are a lot of factors at play keeping employees in the workforce longer than before. For example, for many years, pensions have been on the decline (only a small minority of employers offer them now—meaning employees have more responsibility to save for their own retirement and may need to stay working longer in order […]

White House

The High Cost of Employee Turnover: The White House Edition

Whether you agree with him or not, one thing’s for sure: With President Donald Trump, there is never a dull moment! This edition of HR Strange But True is not meant to be a one-sided political discussion. It’s simply an example of how costly employee turnover can be, and with the latest hiring and firing—at […]

mental health

5 Ways Companies Can Support Mental Health, Beginning with Empathy

With much of the workforce still working from home, personal demands continue to spill into work demands and vice versa. Combined with raising children and maintaining relationships in a COVID world, it is easy to understand why self-reported mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression have nearly doubled since before the pandemic.  These mounting […]

trends

Workplace Trends to Watch in 2017

Maternity leave is so 2015. Like resolutions, trend forecasting has become a rite of passage around the arrival of each New Year. Through safe bets and bold predictions, we look ahead to what the year will hold. Over time, these trends cease to be trends—they become entrenched in our workplaces, and they mature.

Assault

#MeToo, #TimesUp, and #BlackLivesMatter Not Being Discussed at Work

A recent survey from Fierce Conversations, a training company that teaches organizations how to have effective conversations, revealed key insight into the potential impact recent political and social events have had on the workplace—from who is being invited to the conversation to increased feelings of self-empowerment. Over 1,000 full- and part-time employees in the United […]

Why You Should Establish a Bereavement Leave Policy

In the past few months, I’ve spent every week, if not every day, updating or creating employee handbooks for businesses of all sizes. During that time, I’ve often found myself answering questions about bereavement leave. Most often, employers ask whether their state requires them to offer paid bereavement leave. When I answer their questions, I […]