Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Fairness—not legality—is the most basic issue in avoiding lawsuits. Why? Because fairness is what matters to juries. As you act, ask yourself, what would a jury think? Many of the most costly cases in employment law are decided by juries. Although judges carefully instruct jury members in the finer points of law involved in their […]
No one likes dealing with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but every HR manager is doing it. Barbara Dahlen’s approach has satisfied DOL and other agencies while at the same time significantly reducing FMLA time off. Take the case of "Bristol," says Dahlen, one of her employees who tried to wear her out. […]
Litigation Value: A little recognition goes a long way, especially if there’s an unlimited bar tab… As the weeks roll by, we find ourselves closer and closer to the season premiere and Michael Stott’s last year at the office. But right now, we’re still in the midst of the long, hot summer, and last night was […]
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued Administrator’s Interpretation (AI) No. 2013-1, which can be found at www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/adminintrprtn/fmla/2013/fmlaai2013_1.htm. The AI clarifies that the age of onset of a disability is irrelevant when determining whether an employee is entitled to take leave to care for an adult son […]
by Jimmy Daniel 75% of careers are derailed for reasons related to emotional competencies, including inability to handle interpersonal problems; unsatisfactory team leadership during times of difficulty or conflict; or inability to adapt to change or elicit trust. —The Center for Creative Leadership It does not matter what your IQ is or how smart you […]
Is every employee who makes a formal complaint considered a “whistleblower”? The federal District Court says no. Mark Shulthies, a long time Amtrak employee working in California, sent an email to his supervisor complaining that the company’s decision to reorganize certain aspects of its service between the Bay Area and Bakersfield posed a “danger to […]
Twenty of America’s largest corporations have joined together to improve the way healthcare benefits are purchased for employees in an effort to create better health care outcomes. The stated goal of the newly formed Health Transformation Alliance (HTA), according to a press release, is “to break with existing marketplace practices that are costly, wasteful, and […]
Web Editor Wendi Watts reviews the book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton. Review highlights how book can be used to start a corporate giving or charity program or by employees individually. While most books about business tell you how to make more money for yourself or your business, […]
By Amy McLaughlin, JD, Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew As an employment lawyer, the first question I ask clients who are dealing with a challenging personnel matter is what type of documentation exists. Why? Because in the world of employment litigation, documentation is king!
As back to school time looms, employers may be assessing their experiences with summer workers — those brought in for seasonal work as well as college interns learning the ropes in their chosen profession. Now is a good time to examine which employer practices are sound and which ones may be iffy. Employers need to […]