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Retaliation Roulette (a game we don’t want to play)

Most employment laws include provisions protecting employees from vindictive managers who would otherwise punish them for exercising their rights. The Fair Labor Standards Act is no exception. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division takes the anti-retaliation provisions of the FLSA seriously enough that it released a fact sheet (WHD Fact Sheet #77A) in December […]

Learning How to Count: IRS Attorneys Discuss ACA’s Pay-or-play Provisions

Employer preparation for preparing for health care reform’s pay-or-play provisions, especially data reporting (under Sections 6055 and 6056) to the IRS, can be complicated by: (1) changes in workers’ employment status (from part-time to full-time); (2) an organization’s switching from one measurement method to another; and (3) the structure of controlled groups and subsidiaries, speakers […]

Live Generously: Being in Business to Help Others

Oswald, CEO of BLR, shared his thoughts about the article in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter: The article caught my attention for a number of reasons. I love the “Live Generously” lead. I just think it’s a great concept. Add to it the teen and business angles, and I was hooked. The article […]

HHS Collaborating with Private Employers to Encourage Marketplace Enrollment

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a commitment from 17 companies to support enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace. These companies will connect freelance professionals, entrepreneurs, and customers with information and resources to encourage enrollment in affordable coverage throughout the Open Enrollment period beginning November 1 and ending on January […]

Court sends supervisor to jail

By Antonio Di Domenico We know that Canadian courts are increasingly more willing to impose significant six- and seven-figure fines on employers convicted of criminal workplace negligence or occupational health and safety violations. Indeed, we reported on two recent examples—Vale Canada Limited and Metron Construction—where the companies were given record fines in these types of […]

Sign of the times: Jill Abramson, the New York Times, and pay equity

by Mark I. Schickman The New York Times is the second largest newspaper in America, with about two million papers sold each day. It’s also the liberal beacon of American journalism, with solid-gold progressive credentials. Still, it took the paper 160 years to hire Jill Abramson as its first female executive editor in 2011.  In […]

Accommodations: Jury Award for Agoraphobic Worker Slashed by $4 Million

In May, we reported that a Sonoma County jury awarded $6.5 million to county MediCal caseworker George Alberigi, who claimed the county’s human services department refused to accommodate his agoraphobia (fear of going outside) and panic disorder when he applied for a promotion. The jury’s verdict included $1.5 million in economic damages and just under […]

Post-contractual duty to act faithfully: a protection limited to a (too) reasonable period

by Isabelle East-Richard Throughout Canada, whether under article 2088 of the Civil Code of Québec in Quebec or the common law elsewhere, employees have a duty to act faithfully and honestly toward their employer once the employment relationship has ended. That is the case even when there is no noncompetition clause in an employment contract. […]

SHRM 2011: Helping Employees Lighten Up

Weight loss is the most searched term on Google, says corporate health strategist Adam Bordes, and similarly, helping employees lose weight is the most sought-after goal of corporate wellness programs. In “Lighten Up: Daily Strategies for a Lighter, Healthier Workplace,” he gave SHRM attendees several steps to help employees trim fat from their waistlines. Bordes, […]

Video Technology Changing Interviewing Process

When you think about interviewing job candidates, what comes to mind? The interviewee makes sure his clothes are neatly pressed (and free of stains) and that his hair is combed, teeth are brushed, and palms are dry for the inevitable interviewer handshake. Well, today that handshake may never happen. Technology, especially video technology, is radically […]