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Vacation season—a time to relax and recharge or a time to keep on working?

Summer—traditionally a time when workers schedule time off and plan trips to exotic or relaxing locales—may have entered a new era. It’s an era of contradictions: As some studies show workers value generous paid time off policies, others indicate that employees are increasingly willing to leave their hard-earned time off on the table.  Some workers […]

Play-or-pay factor: Affordability safe harbors

By Martin Simon If an employer covered by the Affordable Care Act play-or-pay requirements decides to play by providing health insurance coverage, it could still be hit with penalties if the coverage is “unaffordable.” Coverage is unaffordable if one or more of the employer’s full-time employees receives a premium tax credit because he or she […]

Recent events confirm racists, misogynists are not extinct

by Dinita L. James Last July, the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The focus rightly was on how far we have come as a society in eliminating discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. Close on the heels of that celebration, however, recent […]

Sessions memo changes DOJ position on transgender discrimination

by Tammy Binford U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement changing his department’s position on transgender employment discrimination marks a change in the legal landscape, but it doesn’t alter employer obligations under various state and local laws or the position taken by other federal agencies. In an October 4 memo to U.S. attorneys titled “Revised Treatment […]

U.S. Supreme Court expands SOX whistleblower protection

In the early 2000s, corporate and accounting scandals involving Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, and other publicly traded companies cost investors billions of dollars and prompted federal legislation to reform corporate financial practices. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) covers everything from mandatory financial disclosures to enhanced penalties for white-collar crime to requiring a company’s CEO to sign corporate […]

Automation—Best of Breed Out, Integration In

Best of Breed Out Most companies started out their transition to HR automation by going “best of breed”; that is, finding the best time tracking system, the best payroll system, and so on, but now that’s not the way to go, says Lombardi. Now employers want integration of all these processes plus integration with business […]

Justice system failed the victims of Radiohead stage collapse

by Norm Keith On September 5, 2017, Justice Nelson of the Ontario Court of Justice stayed all charges against the accused in the deadly stage collapse at the Radiohead concert in Downsview Park on June 16, 2012. These charges under the Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) are the latest in a series of serious regulatory […]

Don’t Hire Bad Employees in the First Place

Yesterday we looked at the costs of a bad hire and a few thoughts on how to avoid them in the first place. Today we’ll look at further advice from our contributing editor, Bridget Miller.