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Finally: Practical, Workable, Automated Leave Tracking

And, of course, each type of leave has its own set of eligibility, entitlement, notice, documentation, and tracking requirements, and oftentimes the requirements overlap. To help our readers cope with this thicket of leave laws, BLR—after evaluating a number of leave management systems—is proud to announce that we have established a partnership with Presagia to […]

Don’t Do These Things to Employees on Vacation

School is almost over and that means pretty soon your employees will start taking their vacations. However, American’s are taking less vacation than ever. Various reports—released by Project Time Off—indicate that 40% of workers allow paid vacation days to go unused, often the result of employers subtly (or not so subtly) condemning time off and […]

Texting While Driving—Expensive (Not to Mention Dangerous)

Special from Atlanta–SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition Your employees are doing compensable work on their handhelds after hours, says attorney Joseph Beachboard, and many of then are doing while they are driving. Beachboard, who is a shareholder in the Los Angeles and Torrence, California offices of national employment law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & […]

School for Scandal: Hearst Corp. Latest Company to Be Sued by an Unpaid Intern

By Liza Casabona Thinking that an unpaid intern might provide an answer to payroll your budget woes? Think again. Several recent, high profile lawsuits filed by interns underscore the risks faced by companies sponsoring unpaid internships. The Hearst Corp. is among the latest companies to be accused by interns of wage and hour violations. The […]

The Job Stops Here: HR’s Role in Effective Terminations

People who make firing decisions always think they are doing “the righteous thing,” says attorney Edward M. Richters,” but that’s not what counts. How it plays to the judge, the jury, and the EEOC is what counts.” Richters comments came at a workplace law symposium sponsored by national employment law firm Jackson Lewis and the […]

New Alabama noncompete law starts in January

by Al Vreeland A bill signed into law over the summer will significantly strengthen Alabama employers’ ability to enforce noncompete agreements when the law takes effect January 1, 2016. The state’s old noncompete statute makes a broad statement that noncompete agreements are void. It then creates several exceptions into which courts have shoehorned the modern […]

Addressing the ‘Toxic Manager’

Rainn Wilson (Dwight) has been all over the place lately promoting his new movie and the new season of The Office. One of his more interesting appearances in the media was a Business Week article in which he was interviewed about “office jobs from hell.” It was interesting to learn that Rainn used to work […]

Acting in Good Faith: How to Deal with Religion in the Workplace

The Constitution protects the freedom to practice religion. Employers must honor this right while balancing the needs of the business. Here are some guidelines for doing both. In virtually every religion, there are significant days on the calendar that dictate religious observance. For example, next Monday, October 2, is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, […]

Micro-units: fermenting new labor problems

by Martin J. Saunders The cornerstone of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is employees’ right to self-organize in a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The NLRA confers on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) wide discretion to determine in each case whether the unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining is […]