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Unexcused Absences Still a Valid Reason for Termination

By John S. Gannon, JD, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C As employment litigation becomes more and more prevalent, employers are left wondering whether it’s ever safe to fire employees who violate company policy. Courts and administrative agencies have ruled against employers that have fired employees for improprieties such as shouting obscenities in the workplace or […]

Relationships? ‘Sorry, Gotta Have ’Em to Get Stuff Done’

HR Isn’t About Compliance We spend a lot of energy worrying about regulations and compliance, says Schooling, but that’s not HR. We professionals in HR: Pay attention to changing conditions, constantly scanning the environment. Explore and stay tuned in to human dynamics. Understand theories of motivation like push/pull and Maslow. Are empathetic and tuned in […]

Canadian employers hit with record-setting occupational health and safety fines

By Norm Keith With the introduction of the Bill C-45 amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, occupational health and safety regulation, prosecution and conviction have been on the rise across the country. Recently, Vale Canada Limited and Metron Construction were given record fines in occupational health and safety and criminal negligence convictions, respectively.

Breaking This Workplace Ban Is So Stupid, It’s Criminal

This HR Strange but True story has a happy ending for 117 workers but not for the person who didn’t follow a workplace policy. Well, actually the employee didn’t just allegedly break a workplace ban; he could be guilty of criminal violations of a state law—and risking a catastrophe. Hard as it is to believe, […]

Don’t Get Tangled Up in Duct Tape: Lessons for Employers

By Ida Martin and Brian Smeenk The City of Mississauga was recently embarrassed by a video of two of its employees duct-taped together. They were squirming around on a table, taped by their hands, torsos, and feet. This was apparently a routine employee hazing. It was leaked to the media by an employee who had […]

Are Your Workers Trained to Trim Trees Safely?

In November 2013, a 42-year-old employee of a real estate company was struck and killed by a large section of a 60-foot (ft)-tall eucalyptus tree he was helping to remove from the employer’s property. Cal/OSHA investigated the incident and found that neither he nor any of the other construction laborers employed by the company had […]

Q&A on Creating and Administrating a PTO Policy

Do you use a paid time off (PTO) policy in lieu of separate vacation, sick leave, and other leave of absence policies? Doing so can have a lot of benefits, such as increased employee satisfaction and ease in administration. That said, it also comes with challenges. For example, must all accrued PTO be paid out […]

HR Professionals Can Help Solve Cybersecurity Problems

by Maurice Uenuma Yesterday’s Advisor illuminated how a lack of training has the potential to increase the risk of cybersecurity breaches at your organization. Today, Maurice Uenuma, chief operating officer for the Council on CyberSecurity, explains how HR professionals are integral to the security of enterprise data and networks.

New Hawaii Law Protects Domestic, Sexual Violence Victims from Discrimination

By David Banks Hawaii’s Act 206, which provides employment protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence, becomes effective January 1, 2012. Hawaii is one of only five states to enact a law protecting victims of domestic and sexual violence. Among other things, the Act: prohibits discrimination on the basis of domestic or sexual violence […]