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Ebola outbreak sparks legal questions for employers

Employers have dealt with health scares before. Maladies ranging from the common cold to virulent strains of flu often prompt employers to post hand-washing reminders, offer onsite vaccinations, and encourage sick employees to stay home. But the challenge intensifies in the midst of a disease outbreak as serious and frightening as Ebola.  As the deadly […]

Office Scuttlebutt

Litigation value: $100,000 A new season of The Office is upon us!  Although Michael Scott is hardly a man for all seasons (and unlikely to be confused with Thomas More, or any other saint), in last night’s premiere he provided us with yet another object lesson on employment law.  This time the principle involved was […]

Religion in the Workplace: A Delicate Balance

By Keith Moorman With the steady flow of news putting religious issues in the spotlight, it’s a good time to review the requirements regarding religion in the workplace. Religion and Private Employers Although the U.S. Constitution prohibits governments from interfering with the free exercise of religion, it doesn’t dictate how a private employer must deal […]

What Can Trainers Do to Work Successfully with SMEs?

“Getting them involved can be very difficult,” she says. Since training is likely not among the SMEs’ job responsibilities, it can be hard to schedule time with them and to get the information you need from them when you need it, Lee explains. She recommends scheduling “kick off meetings” with SMEs to set clear expectations, […]

California vs. federal travel pay

Travel pay poses a significant risk for wage and hour claims since the line between employer time and employee time can easily blur. With employees commuting to and from the workplace; to and from jobsites; and to and from hotels, airports, and conferences, the line between personal time and work time isn’t always clear. The […]

The Eight Myths of Mediation

The Employers’ Counsel Network includes the attorneys from each state who write BLR’s state employment law newsletters. Marcus is one of the EEOC mediators based in the Boston office of the EEOC. Mediation vs. Enforcement Marcus explains the essential differences between the mediation and enforcement roles of her agency: Enforcement Find out what happened. Determine […]

Fewer Companies Offer Paid Family Leave, Trend Points to PTO Plans

Federal law does not require leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to be paid, but one in five companies today offer paid family leave — down from one in four companies that reportedly offered it from 2010 to 2012, according to research from the Society for Human Resource Management. Instead, SHRM reports, there […]

Parks and relationships

As an avid Parks and Recreation fan, I cannot help but love the chemistry between newlyweds Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt. Long before they were joining their dysfunctional families via a wedding with a punch heard round the world and a unity quilt (complete with a patch dedicated to waffles, of course), these two were […]