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Workplace Pressures Take a Toll, but Employers Can Help

Evidence is piling up that many in today’s workplace are not OK. Stressors like financial insecurity, worries about AI, and political strife spilling into the workplace are dragging people down. And employers and employees aren’t always coping well. While no perfect solution is likely to surface, suggestions abound on how employers can help. Trust Versus […]

County hammered with $820,000 verdict for not protecting disabled employee

By Michael Futterman and Jaime Touchstone California’s Fourth Appellate District recently upheld an $820,000 harassment verdict against Orange County for failing to stop or prevent nearly eight months of continuous harassment of a disabled corrections officer by county employees. Let’s take a look at the case. Disabled corrections officer harassed online and at work Ralph […]

Put March 24, 2014, on Your Calendar—Vets’ Affirmative Action Deadline

Here are some of the other important changes included in the final affirmative action rule: The incorporation of specific EO Clause language in subcontracts. In order to incorporate the equal opportunity (EO) clause by reference in subcontracts, contractors must include specific language spelled out in the new regulations. This language notifies subcontractors of their responsibilities […]

What Supreme Court’s DOMA decision means for employers

by Maria Reed On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which had mandated that “in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ […]

Is Your Compensation Plan Due for a Makeover?

Working with outdated pay ranges can create turnover, pay equity issues, low morale, and legal challenges. Also, granting merit increases without an accurate budget or distribution methodology has the potential to damage your professional credibility. Is calling in a compensation consultant the only solution?

Personal Liability Of Supervisors: California Supreme Court Limits Risk For Discrimination Claims

Clarifying an issue that has long divided lower courts of appeal, the California Supreme Court has ruled that only employers-not individual managers and supervisors-can be forced to pay damages for workplace discrimination claims arising out of routine employment decisions. But supervisors are still at risk for huge damages in cases involving harassment and retaliation-and possibly […]

Family Responsibility Discrimination

Consider the following two scenarios: A male employee requests extended leave to provide at-home care to a sick child. Instead of evaluating the request based on his eligibility for leave, the employer questions why the child’s mother can’t care for her. A qualified female employee with two preschool children is considered a “poor fit” for […]

Lessons on Life and Leadership from MLK, Jr.

Oswald, CEO of BLR, offered his thoughts in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. King was a man who developed a followership that numbered in the hundreds of thousands—if not millions—made up of people compelled to follow his example of nonviolent civil disobedience to bring attention to the civil rights movement in the 1950s […]

Time running out to comment on long-stalled overtime rule

Employers and others have until September 25 to submit comments to shape the rule governing which workers are eligible for overtime pay. Once the deadline passes, employers will face a waiting game before learning what changes may be in store. In late July, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it was soliciting comments through […]