Most Popular

retirement

Is Disability Retirement ‘Honorable’ if Retiring Police Officer is Facing Termination?

A California police officer was being evaluated for not properly investigating a sexual abuse incident. The police department decided to proceed with discipline by recommending that the officer be terminated from the department. After the internal investigation was completed and the notice of intent to impose discipline was sent, the officer’s lawyer tried to extend […]

Employee Fired for Excessive Absences After Making Need for FMLA Leave Known

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee’s right to take medical leave. When pursuing such a claim, an employee need not allege the employer intended to deny the benefit, just that it was withheld. The employer’s motives are irrelevant when determining whether interference occurred. Of course, the […]

6 Tips to Improve Workplace Communication

To better communicate with bosses, colleagues and customers, match your message to your audience, and don’t forget the nonverbal skills, says a new DVD plus book program. A recent Daily Advisor listed the ability to communicate effectively as one of the secrets to success in any organization. We discussed it in terms of reaching senior […]

Are Employees Really Slacking Off More Now?

Remember when employee slacking meant long conversations at the water cooler and frequent smoke breaks? Those were simpler times. Some studies suggest that digital distractions offer a whole new, more time-consuming and effective method of slacking in the modern workplace. But how damaging are such behaviors? Should they be stamped out entirely or maybe even […]

Overtime in Limbo—What Employers Should Do Now (Infographic)

Now that the Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule changes have been put on hold, what should employers do? That, in part, depends on the steps your company took to prepare. In May 2016, the federal DOL released final changes to the overtime regulations. With this final rule, the DOL sought to update the salary […]

Have ‘Stranger’ Leaves Been Approved? FMLA Lessons from Netflix

While binge-watching everyone’s nostalgic guilty pleasure, Netflix’s Stranger Things, I could not help but empathize with single mother Joyce Byers (played by actress Winona Ryder). Her prepubescent son, Will (Noah Schnapp), was abducted by a monster (the Demogorgon) and sent to a parallel universe (the Upside Down) populated by dog-like monsters. During Will’s disappearance, apparent […]

positive

Creating a More Positive Work Environment

Employers know that a negative working environment can quickly snowball and become unmanageable. It can impact not just morale but also eventually productivity and turnover, leading to escalating costs and problems.

Implicit Bias Can Take Toll on Performance Review Process

More and more employers are exploring unconscious bias and what they can do to manage the damage caused by biases people may not even realize they harbor. Most of the attention has focused on unconscious bias’s effect on hiring and how it causes uncomfortable interactions between coworkers and the public. But biased attitudes also can […]

3 Key Aspects of Leadership Training for the Modern World

To recap: Roselinde Torres, senior partner of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and leadership expert in its People & Organization practice, says that “There are some aspects of leadership that are timeless, like vision, intelligence, good judgment, courage, ambition, and integrity. However, the hierarchical, inward-focused leadership style that defined the 20th century is unraveling. The […]

Kanye’s Wife’s Grammy Dress Provides a Lesson in Dress Codes

During the biggest night in music, the 2025 Grammy awards ceremony, Kanye’s wife, Bianca Censori, caused quite a commotion by walking the red carpet when she removed her coat to reveal . . . just about everything. Her dress, if you can call it that, was completely sheer. And after I uttered, “Well, that’s a […]