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Fairness—Not Legal Technicalities—Counts with Employees … and Juries

Lawyers like to talk about picky legal points, says attorney Jeffrey Wortman, but the real bottom line for most legal cases is fairness. Juries—and sometimes judges—are more likely to make a decision based on fair treatment than on legal treatment. It isn’t only in court that you reap the benefits of fairness, Wortman notes. It’s […]

Employees Flyin’ High for Going ‘Above and Beyond’

Ten US Airways employees are flyin’ high this holiday season—and no, it’s not from imbibing at the company party. These employees went “above and beyond” delivering outstanding service to not only the airline’s customers, but to fellow colleagues—and some took home $10,000! According to a press release, the Above and Beyond (A&B) program allows US […]

Banning electronic cigarettes in the workplace

by Reggie Gay Electronic cigarette companies like to say that users of their products can “Smoke anywhere!” According to the recent Businessweek article “E-Cigarettes Want Your Attention Now (Before the FDA Steps In),” electronic cigarettes are “expected to top $1 billion in annual sales in the next few years.” As the industry grows exponentially, employers […]

Run Worker Run, but Not When You’re on WC

By: Elaine Quayle Sure, you want your employees to stay in shape. Running long distance—how great! But you don’t want them running in over 80 long-distance races when they are on workers’ comp. A Florida postal worker was out on WC for a back injury. According to Yahoo! News, she was therefore relieved of carrying […]

Get Your Writing Global

Is your command of English good enough for readers outside the United States?  This may seem an odd question, but consider that, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, English is the native language of a vast amount of people—many of whom are not from the United States.  Add in all nonnative English speakers and English is […]

U.S. Supreme Court Building

SB 1070 conflicts with federal law on alien employment

By Dinita L. James Arizona’s attempt to make criminals out of those who work or seek employment while unlawfully in the United States suffered a fatal blow in the U.S. Supreme Court today. The 5-3 decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, held that Congress already has “decided it would be inappropriate to impose criminal penalties […]

4 Leadership Traits to Avoid

The other day a colleague passed along an article on leadership written by Michael Hyatt. The piece was titled, “The Five Characteristics of Weak Leaders” and focused on the leadership of General George B. McClellan, the first general-in-chief of the Union Army. It detailed the weaknesses McClellan exhibited as a leader and how they ultimately […]

Is Breaking the Law Protected Activity by Employees When Filing an EEOC Charge?

Imagine this: One of your employees violates company policy and state law by disclosing confidential company records to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to buttress her discrimination charge. After learning about the activity, you fire the employee — who then sues you, claiming you retaliated against her for filing an EEOC charge. Does an […]