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Back Up to Speed Must Mean Back On the Job in California

by Denise Trani-Morris Just as in any other job, California state employees can be incapacitated in this line of duty and can receive certain special disability retirement benefits. However, once deemed no longer incapacitated, the employee must be reinstated. This was reaffirmed by a recent appeals case.

How Data Driven Hiring Trumps Intuition When Building a Rock Star Team

By Tonya Lanthier “If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.” —H. James Harrington Interviewing a new hire can be a lot like a blind date. You show up with very little information about the person […]

Do You Train Managers to Be Winning Coaches?

In sports, coaches develop and motivate players. They work hard to bring out the best in each player and then to unify all their players into a winning team. Coaching in the workplace has basically the same purpose and involves similar techniques. To develop a competent, motivated, and productive workforce, your supervisors must be good […]

Workers’ Comp Fraud: Why Employer Was Ordered to Pay Insurer $3 Million

When you hear about workers’ compensation fraud, it’s usually by employees. But there are cases where employers are charged with cheating the workers’ comp system. In one of the biggest verdicts of this kind, State Compen- sation Insurance Fund-the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurer-recently won a $3.2 million judgment against a network of Southern California […]

Is Obesity a Disability? Fat Chance!

by Gary Jiles Q: Can an employee be fired for being so obese that he can’t do his job? In other words, is obesity a disability protected by law? Americans with Disablities (ADA) Compliance Manual A: The employee must be qualified to do his job or he faces termination. With a few exceptions, the latest […]

Reasonable Accommodations: Deaf Employee Who Was Turned Down For Driver Job Can Sue; Defenses To Accommodation Claims

Under federal Department of Transportation rules, professional drivers who operate vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds must be DOT certified. United Parcel Service had a policy of only hiring individuals for driving positions who had this certification. Based on this rule, UPS turned down an employee who couldn’t meet DOT standards because she was deaf. […]

Why Supreme Court transition is important to employers—and the republic

by Mark I. Schickman U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death marks a landmark in American law. Off the bench, he was avuncular, professorial, funny, and friendly, a mind like a machine gun, dangerous and quick. In last year’s biggest employment case, EEOC v. Abercrombie and Fitch, Scalia was the most aggressive questioner of the […]