Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In his e-pinion on this page a few weeks ago, Dan Oswald suggested that when two employees hate each other, the best course may be keeping the most valuable employee and firing the other one. Most readers didn’t agree. Oswald’s original story is found here in The Oswald Letter. The full text of all the […]
One of the biggest FMLA frustrations for employers is knowing what to do with an employee who appears to be abusing the law’s protections or, even worse, fraudulently using approved leave for non-FMLA purposes.
Retaliation cases are an “incredible pain,” says Michael Faillace. “They are the 21st century weapon for plaintiffs’ lawyers who have no case.” Retaliation claims are growing, notes Faillace, and it is no wonder—employees with baseless claims can make their retaliation claims stick. “You just don’t want to be in front of a jury on one […]
The University of California has agreed to pay out $9.7 million in damages—and possibly millions more in attorney’s fees—to settle a class action lawsuit alleging sex discrimination against 3,200 female workers at the university-run Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The lawsuit alleged women experienced bias in promotions and were paid less than male employees who performed […]
Comedian Jim Carrey is well known for his high energy and incredibly silly impressions and comedic routines. His movie roles have included characters such as Ace Ventura, the hapless pet detective; Lloyd Christmas, one-half of the Dumb and Dumber duo; and the Grinch from Dr. Seuss fame. When a colleague shared this clip from a […]
If you’re like me, you don’t necessarily equate the USA network with riveting and innovative television. While the network has respectable ratings, I can’t help but tune out when I see a commercial for Suits, Graceland or Royal Pains (apologies to those fans of the show—I believe you, I’m sure they’re good). In fact, although […]
By Jennifer M. Shepherd and Hannah Roskey It’s well established that discrimination against an employee on the basis of a physical or mental disability is prohibited in Canada. Drug or alcohol addictions constitute a “disability” under most human rights legislation such that employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of their addictions. […]
Recently the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a ruling in which the court suggested that a policy with a strict limit on medical leaves of absence might be enforceable. This ruling leads to many questions. For instance:
On February 4, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against Nike in the Eastern District of Missouri, claiming the company had not complied with the agency’s requests for information in its investigation that it discriminated against white employees and applicants. The case was filed in Missouri because the EEOC’s St. Louis office […]
San Jose’s City Council recently approved the highest living wage in the nation, guaranteeing certain workers far more than required by state or federal minimum wage laws. But San Jose’s new policy isn’t the first in California-and it looks like it won’t be the last.