Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Tom Harper, The Law and Mediation Offices of G. Thomas Harper, LLC Imagine you have a worker who is nearing retirement. His son agrees to learn the position in anticipation of taking over when his father retires. You don’t pay the worker’s son, even though he performs some work for you. Is the worker’s […]
by David Marchione, OHS Consultant/Paralegal Many employers struggle to efficiently manage workers’ compensation claims. Most provincial experience rating programs established by workers’ compensation boards are based on two things: claim costs and claim duration. Thus, a failure by an employer to efficiently manage a claim can result in increased costs and increased duration of the […]
While the focus of late has been on complying with disclosure requirements from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Securities and Exchange Commission has its own set of disclosure criteria that 403(b) plans must follow. Specifically, 403(b) contracts that offer variable investment funds are subject to the jurisdiction of the Securities Act of 1933, the […]
Reducing the risk of data breaches requires assessing your company’s vulnerabilities, then addressing them with policies, procedures, training and agreements. The media tend to focus on external hackers, but “the real culprits for most our clients are internal,” according to employment law attorney Robert Fitzpatrick. Employee data breaches can be classified into the deliberate and […]
Johns Manville of McPherson, Kansas, which produces fiberglass insulation materials, was honored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for its commitment to safety. In 2007 Johns Manville earned membership in OSHA’s prestigious “star” Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The star designation is the highest level in the program. “Johns Manville has exhibited excellence in […]
A new ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers California, focuses on when small employers may have to comply with the WARN Act—which requires advance notice to employees of plant closings or mass layoffs. We’ll take a look at what happened. Big Layoff Darby Lumber Inc. (DLI) operated a lumber mill and […]
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Oct. 6 that it would not review two Fair Labor Standards Act rulings. The cases dealt with misclassification and compensable working time. In the misclassification case, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the City of Los Angeles owed fire department dispatchers and paramedics assigned to air ambulance […]
Most organizations these days believe that "diversity" produces better results. But things get tricky when it comes to diversity training. It’s easy to do significant legal damage, especially with "let-it-all-hang-out" sessions . One of the favorite moves of diversity training facilitators is to ask employees to drop all pretenses, and just go ahead and express […]
We aren’t subject to an affirmative action plan, but I’m concerned that our workforce isn’t very diverse and that we may be losing good employees as a result. What are our legal obligations with diversity, and how can we address diversity at our company? — Abby B., HR Manager in Bakersfield
Resources for Humans editor Celeste Blackburn reviews Minding the Store: Great Writing about Business from Tolstoy to Now, edited by Robert Coles and Albert LaFarge. While those looking for straightforward business insights will be disappointed, literature lovers should appreciate the business lessons that can be learned from great literature. Whether you are a member of […]