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Six Steps for Avoiding Retaliation Claims?

Retaliation suits may be dumb, but they happen with increasing frequency. What should HR do? Here are tips from attorney Joan S. Farrell, BLR Legal Editor: Have a written policy.  As the backbone for your anti-retaliation program, initiate a policy prohibiting retaliation (see sample below) Provide training. Just having the policy isn’t enough. Provide training […]

New rule extends employment term for international STEM students

by Elaine Young The rules affecting how long international students in certain fields can work in the United States without changing their visa status will change on May 10. Currently, when international students in F-1 visa status graduate with a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate from a U.S. school, they can work for one year, in […]

The Role Training Can Play in Narrowing the Skills Gap

Recent research from Cornerstone OnDemand (www.csod.com) identified three concerns related to training with which nearly every company grapples. The first concern is an increasing absence of ongoing training and development. Only 32 percent of employed American adults in the survey have received training and development to boost job performance in the past 6 months. The […]

South Carolina’s Verification Rules for Private Employers Take Effect July 1

Last summer, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford signed legislation that requires private employers to verify the employment eligibility of new employees. On July 1, 2009, these rules will take effect for private employers with 100 or more employees. Under the new verification laws, employers that are required by federal law to complete and maintain federal […]

Skeevy TV raises harassment threshold for sitcom writers

Law school will ruin your life in so many ways. I used to watch television in a state of blissful ignorance. Holes in the plot? Didn’t notice. Inconsistent character behavior week to week? Didn’t care. Offensive, sexually charged dialogue? Didn’t mind at all. Then I became a lawyer, and now my clients are employers who […]

Compassionate Care Benefits for Canadian Employees

By Donovan Plomp McCarthy Tetrault In Canada, employees are entitled to certain government-provided benefits under the federal Employment Insurance Act, including “compassionate care benefits.” The introduction of these benefits in January 2004 prompted almost all provinces and territories to introduce job-protected compassionate care leave in their respective minimum employment standards laws. Employers in Canada must […]

Recognition

Motivating on the cheap: Rewards don’t have to bust the budget

Dedicated, hardworking—and maybe even long-suffering—employees deserve rewards. Sometimes the appropriate reward is a well-deserved raise, but money isn’t always the best solution. And in today’s world of tight budgets, it’s often not even a possibility. But employers wanting to show appreciation have other options. In the Business & Legal Resources webinar “Small Budget, Big Employee […]

Timekeeping and Payroll: The 9-to-5 Trap

Most employees today don’t punch a time clock; they generally work a set schedule, such as 9 am to 5 pm. Because these employees work a regular schedule, many employers don’t bother to track their time (or require the employees to track their time). This means that each paycheck reflects pay for the time scheduled […]

Sorry, J-Lo and CeeLo: Real world requires carefully crafted employment dress codes

The Grammys aired on Sunday, February 12, 2017. Every year, audiences tune in to the glamorous awards show to watch the presentation of such celebrated accolades as “Song of the Year” and to take in the live performances of their favorite musicians. I, however, plant myself in front of the television for one reason only—to […]

The Company that Hires Ex-Convicts

Most people who have filled out job applications have at one time or another seen the question asking whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime. This could mean either a misdemeanor, relatively minor crimes punishable by up to a year in jail, or felonies, serious crimes that could be punished by years […]