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ENDA may be coming soon—what will its impact really be?

by John R. Merinar, Jr. A great deal of attention has been focused on the U.S. Senate’s recent passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The House of Representatives has yet to take up the bill, but there’s much speculation that […]

Amazon Editors’ Best Business Books of 2010

The editors at Amazon have picked their favorite business and investing books for 2010. Here are the top 10. 1. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis. The sequel to #1 best-selling Liar’s Poker examines the issue of who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real estate prices, a […]

Some Employees Are ‘Fire-Retardant’—But that Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Fire

“I want to fire him, but I can’t.” It’s true that some employees come with “fire retardant factors”—they are in a protected class or performed a protected act—but this doesn’t mean you can’t fire them. However, you do want to slow down and be sure that you aren’t discriminating or retaliating against them for asserting […]

‘Just Cause’ Measure on Colorado November Ballot

A proposed measure that would amend the Colorado Constitution to bar employers from firing or suspending employees without just cause was certified for the November 2008 ballot by the Colorado secretary of state on August 22. The “Just Cause Initiative,” which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 55, gathered more than 130,000 signatures […]

The keyboard is mightier …

This past Friday, LeBron James announced his return to Cleveland after four years of displaying his talents at South Beach. One of the biggest clues that something was in the works was when the open letter written by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert in 2010 to the then-departing LeBron suddenly went missing from the team’s website. In […]

Unmarried and Single Americans

“National Singles Week” was started by the Buckeye Singles Council in Ohio in the 1980s to celebrate single life and recognize singles and their contributions to society. The week is now widely observed during the third full week of September, which is September 18-24 this year, as “Unmarried and Single Americans Week,” an acknowledgment that […]

Look out―here comes GINA!

by Craig L. Olivo and Hilary L. Moreira The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prohibits employers from discriminating in any term or condition of employment based on employees’ or applicants’ “genetic information.” It also prohibits you from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information (with narrow exceptions). GINA was passed by Congress out of concern that […]

Agencies Add Safe Harbors to 90-day Rule for Health Plan Enrollment

Generally, waiting periods to enroll in health coverage cannot exceed 90 days, and eligibility conditions based solely on the lapse of a time period are permissible for no more than 90 days, under new final rules issued by the U.S. Departments of Labor Health and Human Services and the Treasury. In addition, the employer has […]

Legal Restrictions on Employee Background Checks

Employee background checks are used by an estimated 92 percent of organizations in one form or another before hiring someone. They can be quite useful, but employers should be careful because the EEOC has been cracking down on illegal use of background information. Are you aware of what you should and shouldn’t be doing with […]