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Mental Health: Addressing A Significant Workplace Issue

Are your managers and staff prepared to handle mental health issues in the workplace? If not, they should be. Here is why: According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), about one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness in any given year, as reported by the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI). Most […]

Hold on loosely!

by Dan Oswald Being a good manager is a delicate balancing act. You have certain responsibilities, and the buck often stops with you. Assigning tasks, monitoring progress, and measuring results come with the territory. Look “manager” up in the dictionary, and you’ll find it described this way: “a person who has control or direction of […]

Veganism may be a religious belief requiring accommodation

by Rebecca A. Kopp The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has expanded the practices that may be considered protected religious views. The court refused to dismiss a vegan employee’s federal and state religious discrimination claims and permitted the parties to engage in further discovery (the pretrial exchange of evidence relevant to […]

Hiring an Independent Contractor? Make Sure to Pass the Tests

Perhaps the most common type of nontraditional worker in the new workforce is the independent contractor. The recession saw many people seeking work as independent contractors and as the economy has improved, these relationships have continued, whether due to the preference of the employer, the employee, or both.

Step up and make a difference in someone’s life

by Dan Oswald Early last year, Yesenia Diosdado, just 11 years old, got off her school bus near her home in Lexena, Kansas. As the bus pulled away, Yesenia noticed that a three-car accident had occurred at a busy nearby intersection. Police and emergency workers were on the scene attending to the victims. Yesenia wandered […]

Zika and the Workplace: Tips for Employers

While the Zika virus is not yet widespread across the United States, it has arrived stateside and will likely spread. This gives employers the opportunity to prepare now to reduce the chances of this virus becoming a threat for employees.

overtime

How do we explain the need to change the FLSA overtime exemption?

by Jo Ellen Whitney This summer, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) indicated that under new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations issued in May, it might be necessary for various employers to change some workers’ overtime exemption. In a blog post on the DOL website, the agency also indicated that employees would be thrilled […]

‘Sex-plus’ discrimination claims are still viable

by Rachel E. Burke The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed the issue of whether a “sex- plus” claim of discrimination, in which a former employee claimed that she was discriminated against specifically for being an African-American female, can be made under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The case […]