Most Popular

Paid Leave Rejected by Denver Voters

Employers in Denver need not worry about adding paid sick and “safe” time leave for everyone who works for them at least 40 hours a week – voters rejected the proposal by an almost two-to-one margin Denver’s Ballot Initiative 300 was defeated 66,719 votes (64 percent) to 37,498 (36 percent) Nov. 1. A broad coalition […]

Employees’ smartphones as potential sources of evidence

By Antoine Aylwin and Edith Charbonneau Your employee quits his job and returns his smartphone. It contains information that shows he was scheming against you. What can you do with this? Could you use the e-mails found in the smartphone as evidence? This question was recently ruled upon by the Quebec Superior Court in Les […]

DOJ is the latest federal agency to extend Title VII protection

by Leslie A. Sammon Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination by all private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions with 15 or more employees. We are all familiar with Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination in the workplace. In recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), […]

No silver bullet, but HR seen as key to solving talent shortage

More and more employers are suffering from a shortage of talent at the same time jobseekers are struggling to find work. That seemingly implausible situation has become the reality in many fields as the world of work deals with a still-struggling economy and epic change brought on by rapid technological advances.  A study from workforce […]

When the Offender Becomes the Plaintiff

Faced with racially motivated workplace killings, reporters from ABC’s Primetime Live sniffing around your facility, and a spate of race discrimination lawsuits, cracking down on racial harassment might be a good thing, right? Maybe so in some utopian world of rationality and logic, but we live and work “down the rabbit hole.” In our world, […]

Disability Bias: Threat to Demote Disabled Employee Who Wouldn’t Relinquish Accommodation Illegal; Train Your Supervisors

A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling highlights that you can’t threaten an employee with discipline, demotion, or discharge for exercising their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the right to an accommodation. Employee Taken Off “On-Call” Duty Brenda Brown was a Tucson, Ariz., police detective in the neighborhood crimes unit. When […]

Millions of Older Workers in Physically Demanding Jobs

Hard Work? Patterns in Physically Demanding Labor Among Older Workers, a study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, examines the population of older workers and how raising the retirement age affects those in jobs with difficult working conditions. The study notes that high physical demands are a major reason for “early labor-market exit […]

Free Coverage for 11 Months Eliminates Need for COBRA Notice Penalties, Court Rules

Due to an administrative error, an employer clearly did not provide a qualified beneficiary with a COBRA election notice. However, the qualified beneficiary also benefited from that mistake by receiving 11 months of free health coverage. For that reason, a federal district court in Iowa rejected claims that the employer should be subject to COBRA […]

FMLA Leave 101: Notice of Eligibility and Rights & Responsibilities

Administering FMLA leave can be made easier if you have a clear procedure that employees understand and can easily utilize when the need for leave arises. One critical component of this process is the need to notify employees of whether or not they are eligible for FMLA leave and what their responsibilities are while they’re […]