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Defusing Anger and Threats of Violence

In yesterday’s Advisor, Dennis A. Davis, Ph.D., talked about dealing with workplace conflict. Today, we’ll get his take on reacting to anger and violence, and we’ll get a look at a unique program for the small—even one-person—HR department. Sometimes people think anger leads to violence, so they won’t let an angry person talk. But it’s […]

You’re the Expert: Inappropriate Comments

That radio character, Don Imus, who got fired for his inappropriate comments? I think I’ve got a few Imuses in my company. How do I get the “good ol’ boys” to toe the line and stop with their insensitive jokes and actions?

EEOC on the Lookout: Ensure Your Attendance Policies Are Legal

By Kelley E. Kaufman, Esq. These days, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is on the lookout for both inflexible leave of absence policies and no-fault attendance policies. While few employers welcome news of a targeted enforcement initiative, the best defense is a good offense. According to the EEOC, the Americans With Disabilities Act requires […]

News Notes: Federal Employees Discouraged From Using Cell Phones While Driving

The U.S. General Services Administration has asked federal agencies to discourage employees from using handheld wireless phones while driving government vehicles. Citing pending legislation around the nation to regulate the use of cell phones while driving, the GSA stated that the government should assume a leadership role in promoting cell phone safety by its employees. […]

Employees, Public Criticism, and the Media

by Jean-François Cloutier Your employee makes critical comments to the press about your company. Is he a legitimate whistleblower or has he violated his duty of loyalty to his employer? In Chopra et al. v. Treasury Board (Department of Health), an adjudicator at the Public Service Labour Relations Board recently considered just that. He considered […]

Determining FMLA Eligibility: New Definition of Spouse

In the case of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to care for a family member, once the employer has determined whether an individual employee is eligible for FMLA leave, many times the next hurdle is determining if the family member is covered by the FMLA. This determination has become somewhat more complicated as […]

Important Interview Questions You Can’t Ask, Part 2

In the last Advisor, we shared several forbidden interview questions. Today, we hit a few more and also talk about an extraordinary interviewer’s training program to help avoid these costly miscues. Untrained supervisors sitting in the interview room—who knows what they’re going to ask applicants! One thing for sure, they are nervous, and that means […]

Older Hispanics in the United States

Here are some facts about the older Hispanic population from the Urban Institute’s report “50+ Hispanic Workers: A Growing Segment of the U.S. Workforce” by Richard W. Johnson and Maurcio Soto: There were 5.6 million Latinos ages 50 to 69  living in the U.S. in 2007. Between 1980 and 2007, Latinos’ share of the national […]

DOL Proposes that 401(k) Service Providers Furnish Fee Guides

Employers struggling to decode the service provider fee disclosures from their retirement plans may be getting some relief. Nearly two years after the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposed rule requiring covered service providers to disclose the cost of what they do for employer-sponsored 401(k)s, the agency is requesting more help for plan sponsors […]