Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Kevin C. McCormick Maryland’s new law prohibiting discrimination against transgender individuals in areas of employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations goes into effect October 1. The Fairness for All Marylanders Act passed the legislature in March and was signed by Governor Martin O’Malley in May. It adds “gender identity” to Maryland’s existing laws that […]
I’m going to admit it upfront — I’m a huge Green Bay Packers fan. I grew up in Wisconsin and followed the Pack since I was a boy. I was in diapers when they won the first two Super Bowls and then suffered through some pretty lean years in the ’70s and ’80s. But the […]
It was a surprise birthday party for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), says Susan Schoenfeld, JD. On February 5, 2013, exactly 20 years after the FMLA was signed, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule ahead of the planned regulatory schedule.
Last year Gov. Davis vetoed a bill to increase workers’ comp benefits. But, as expected, the issue has already emerged in a new bill, S.B. 71, that calls for a study to make recommendations for boosting benefits and implementing other workers’ comp reforms. Employer proposals include reducing permanent disability payments when an employee returns […]
On Friday, we heard from Author Donna Cutting on how to keep employee morale up and, therefore, reduce the amount of recruiting you need to do because of turnover. Today, we present more from Cutting.
by Lauren E. Moak The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided an issue previously unresolved by the court. In doing so, it held that a combination of medical evidence and lay testimony is sufficient to show an employee was “incapacitated” as defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The decision overturned […]
Pregnancy—a special event, for sure, but a challenging one for the employee’s manager and for HR. Managers need to get it right from the start, and, by the way, guess what, you’re not getting the jury’s sympathy. In 1978, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), amending Title VII to prohibit employers from discriminating against […]
Frank Lemon, the service manager for Fresno-based heavy equipment distributor J.M. Equipment Co., was fired without warning for making a sexually explicit remark to a female employee. Lemon sued, arguing that the company had until then tolerated a pervasive atmosphere of vulgar language and sexually charged conduct and that he was really terminated because J.M. […]
by Carla Oliver When a person applies for a job, the job generally comes with a title that an employer believes to be descriptive of the role and reflective of the duties and responsibilities of the position. In many cases, an employer’s assignment of a job title to a particular role is done without a […]
The hiring process is time-consuming and expensive. It can take weeks, if not months, just to bring on one new hire—and there’s always the risk that person will not work out, and you’ll have to start all over again. Any time you’re bringing on someone new, it’s a difficult task to assess whether he or […]