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New Workers’ Comp Case Is Good News for Employers

Yesterday, we looked at a case in which a brand-new agricultural worker fell off a high ladder, sustaining both physical and psychiatric injuries. Normally a worker has to be with an employer for at least six months to recover for psychiatric injuries—what did the court conclude in this case?

Slow It Down … Hurrying Can Result in a Bad Hire!

It’s undeniable that the caliber of the people in your organization—their integrity, intelligence, experience, and commitment—is critical to your success. Give great people the opportunity to do meaningful work, and there’s no telling what they can achieve. So, if the people in your organization are the most critical factor in your success, do you spend […]

ESOP May Be Short Answer to Complex Questions

Question: How can an employer engage employees in the company’s success, give themselves a competitive position in the battle for new and existing employees, and at the same time, facilitate the sale of the company to a group of trusted, motivated people?

An Employment Lawyer’s Thoughts on How Businesses Can Remain Union-Free: Part 1

by D. Michael Henthorne I’ve been asked to address a group of nursing managers in one of South Carolina’s leading hospital systems on avoiding labor unions and recognizing union-organizing activities. Despite growing up the son of a Teamster (my father was a truck driver), for most of the last 29 years I have lived in […]

Are You Preparing Employees for the Ebola Threat?

  Although it is too early to call the Ebola virus disease (EVD) a major health issue in the United States, employers—particularly in the healthcare industry—are starting to ask what actions they should take to be prepared in the event of an outbreak. Healthcare workers at all levels—hospital, clinic, maintenance, laundry, and transport—are at the […]

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DOL Close to Raising Overtime Threshold

The United States has a very large number of employment and labor laws and regulations. Compliance with these rules can often be a daunting task, especially for smaller businesses without the luxury of a full-time HR or compliance staff.

Supreme Court allows judicial review of EEOC conciliation efforts

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed employers at least a small victory by unanimously ruling that courts are allowed to review the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) conciliation efforts in discrimination cases. On April 29, the Court imposed moderate standards for the conciliation efforts the EEOC is required to make before it files a lawsuit […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for August 2009 and  gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]

Can an Early Settlement Avert Collective Actions? (Maybe)

In Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, at least in this case, action by the employer to offer a settlement “mooted” the collection action, says Brinkerhoff. (A case is “moot” when the issue has been resolved, and the case is no longer “live.”) Brinkerhoff, who is an associate in the […]

Tennessee legislation will amend THRA, TPPA

by David L. Johnson On May 13, the Tennessee General Assembly passed House Bill 1954/Senate Bill 2126, which will significantly amend the Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA) and the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA) in a manner favorable to employers. Governor Bill Haslam is expected to sign the bill later this month. Once signed, it […]