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Sex, religion, and retaliation

by Mark I. Schickman I keep waiting for the day that employment discrimination claims disappear. We spend a ton of time training employees to prevent and avoid discriminatory conduct, and the proper behavior is pretty intuitive. So, logically, employment discrimination should have been eradicated, like polio and smallpox. It would be terrible for my business […]

SHRM 2011: Don’t Just Sit on Your Employee Handbook

How’s this for an illustration of how quickly developments can pop up that may require you to revise your employee handbook? Speaking at the Society for Human Resource Management’s annual conference today, Christine V. Walters discussed a new ruling only five days old, in which a federal appeals court held that an overly broad confidentiality policy […]

5 ways to finish the year on a high note

by Jan L. Fox As you began 2015, you probably made resolutions and promised yourself you would do better in the new year. As 2015 comes to a close, it’s still not too late to improve your professional practice. Here are five things an HR manager can do to bring 2015 to a successful conclusion. […]

Creating an Evacuation Plan in Light of the Earthquake? Don’t Forget the ADA

Employers are not required by law to prepare an emergency evacuation plan but if one exists, a plan for building occupants with disabilities must be included. Importantly, the Americans With Disabilities Act permits employers to ask employees whether they will require assistance in the event of an evacuation because of a disability. However, the law […]

At Will Disclaimer Suddenly Risky (NLRB in Action)

In yesterday’s Advisor, BLR editor and attorney Patricia Trainor SPHR clarified National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) pronouncements on confidentiality and access; today, NLRB and “at-will” statements, plus an introduction to the all-in-one HR Website, HR.BLR.com. Trainor is Managing Editor of BLR’s human resources and employment law publications. At-Will Disclaimer Now an At-Risk Disclaimer For years, […]

Performance Appraisals—What’s Really Happening?

Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: How often are appraisals conducted? What specific characteristics/abilities/behaviors do you measure? If you use software, which software program do you use? How is your performance […]

Independent Contractor Agreement

Independent Contractors: A Sample Agreement A written independent contractor agreement can be essential to document the mutual understanding between you and the contractor that the person is not an employee. Below is a sample general agreement that you can use. A word of caution: Before using the form, be sure to consult with your lawyer […]

Access to information in labor relations: jurisdiction of arbitrators

By Édith Charbonneau and Antoine Aylwin One of your unionized employees files a complaint for psychological harassment and requests to access your investigation report several years later. When you refuse, the employee turns to the Quebec information and privacy board to get that access. But does the information and privacy board have jurisdiction, or could […]