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Pensions

PBGC Reaches New Agreement with Sears

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and Sears Holdings Corporation have reached a new agreement that will provide, upon closing, approximately $500 million in funding for Sears’ two pension plans, including contributions already made by Sears since August 2017. The pension plans cover about 100,000 participants. Closing on the agreement should occur in about 3 […]

6th Circuit: Failure to Pay Employee Salary Removed his ‘Exempt’ Status

An exempt employee must actually be paid in order to retain that exempt status, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently held. The case, Orton v. Johnny’s Lunch Franchise, involved a salaried employee who sued his employer for wages and overtime when, after beginning to experience cash flow problems, the employer stopped paying his […]

Tech Employees Chafe Under Electronic Supervision

Employee productivity and satisfaction are closely linked in both positive and negative ways. Data have repeatedly shown that employees with high levels of job satisfaction tend to be more productive. Employees who enjoy their jobs tend to work harder, longer, and smarter. At the same time, many efforts to boost employee productivity can have a […]

hiring

You’ve Got No Experience? You’re Hired!

With the war for talent raging and unemployment numbers at record lows, employers are doing everything they can to recruit top talent, but are some taking it too far?

California employers have until March 1 to comply with new restroom law

by Michelle Lee Flores and Brett Nicole Taylor California employers need to be in compliance with the state’s new “all-gender” requirements for single-use restrooms by March 1. Assembly Bill 1732 requires all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or local government agency in California to be identified as an all-gender […]

British Columbia court offers more lessons about employment contracts

by Monique Orieux Last year in Northern Exposure we shared five key lessons about Canadian employment contracts arising from the trial court’s decision in Miller v. Convergys CMG Canada Limited Partnership. The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently issued its decision in the case: Miller v. Convergys CMG Canada Limited Partnership, 2014 BCCA 311. Its […]

#Metoo Comes to the Playing Field

The National Football League (NFL) recently levied a $10 million fine against the Washington Football Team (WFT) for fostering a workplace culture loaded with sexual harassment, bullying, and intimidation. The fine, imposed at the end of a months-long investigation, is one of the harshest penalties the league has ever assessed. The money will be used […]

trump

When Political Confrontations Hit Your Workplace:  What the Ford Plant Incident Teaches HR

Picture this: A high-profile political figure visits your company. An employee confronts them about a controversial issue. Profanity flies, and the video goes viral. HR must respond, but how?  That scenario played out last month at a Ford Motor plant in Detroit during President Trump’s visit. Ford assembly worker T.J. Sabula, a unionized employee, shouted “pedophile protector” at Trump, an apparent reference […]

Got conflict? Help managers know what to do

It’s a rare workplace that seldom experiences conflict. In fact, a 2008 global study on workplace conflict found that 85 percent of employees in the study experienced conflict at some level, and 36 percent of U.S. employees said they had to deal with conflict always or frequently. Globally, that figure was just 29 percent.  With […]

Know how to avoid hazards of absence management

Managing absences is hard enough when an employer’s only worry is getting the work covered, but when extended absences and overlapping laws also factor into the equation, the job gets even trickier.  Federal, state, and local laws don’t always intersect smoothly, meaning employers need to be especially careful when dealing with employees in need of […]