Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Kyla Stott-Jess and Katie Clayton Canadian courts have been reluctant to allow random drug and alcohol testing in most workplaces. The issue was recently back before the Alberta Court of Appeal. Oil Company Suncor appealed an injunction against its new proposed drug and alcohol testing policy.
By Brian P. Smeenk How can you protect yourself from arbitrators’ ever-increasing damages awards, based on ever-expanding grounds? In the April 25 Northern Exposure entry “Canadian Court Trims $500K Dismissal Damages, Upholds Arbitrator’s Broad Authority,” we reported on the latest notable example of a Canadian labor arbitrator’s expansive award being upheld by the courts. That […]
An employer/plan administrator that tried to make good on a COBRA administrative error got more reinforcement that its efforts greatly minimized its legal liability. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the fact that the aggrieved qualified beneficiary received two years of free health coverage effectively cancelled out any need to impose penalties for […]
Terminations—where the rubber meets the road in HR. The most angst, the most tears (or screams), and the most lawsuits. Your terminations policy is critical. Today, courtesy of BLR’s SmartPolicies® program, we’ll review the key elements your policy should cover. Compensation, Benefits, and Financial Issues Severance pay. What are your guidelines (e.g., how many years […]
I’m concerned about conflicting information we’ve received from the IRS and our legal counsel regarding how the USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) pay differential (pay difference between military pay and the employer’s pay) should be treated from a tax perspective. Do we report these payments on a 1099-MISC or on a W-2?
Yesterday, we discussed some of the issues surrounding electronic recordkeeping. Today, some tips for storage success — plus a resource that can help you out with the records that are required to be on your walls.
In a controversial decision last year, a California Court of Appealruled that you can discharge high-earning employees over age 40and replace them with lower-paid workers, provided your motivationis to save money and not discriminate against older employees. The California Supreme Court recentlyrefused to review the ruling. But now, two important proposalsare pending in Sacramento that would, […]
By Donna Gallant The much-awaited appeal decision in Fresco v. CIBC was released in September. The appeal court declined to interfere with the original decision of Justice Lax. She had denied Dara Fresco’s bid to bring a class action against CIBC for unpaid overtime. This is one of three high-profile cases we have been following, […]
By Austen K. Townsend The Supreme Court’s decision on Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in U.S. v. Windsor No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013) raises many issues for employers and other plan sponsors to consider about their qualified retirement plans. Section 3 of DOMA provided that the term “marriage” meant only a legal […]
A common thread in social media cases is that the supervisors have overreacted, says attorney Molly DiBianca. Supervisors aren’t ready for negative social media comments about themselves, and they take the comments personally. That can lead to some bad decisions.