Most Popular

President’s budget reflects administration’s labor and employment priorities

by Judith E. Kramer and Daria H. Hafner President Barack Obama has submitted to Congress his budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2016, which begins on October 1, 2015. Here are the highlights of the administration’s requests for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the National Labor Relations […]

More human rights ‘frustrations’

by David G. Wong Traditionally, when an employee’s absenteeism was excessive and there was no reasonable prospect of  returning to work in the foreseeable future—as long as there was no contractual term providing otherwise—a Canadian employer could discharge the employee for non-culpable absenteeism or treat the employment contract as having been frustrated. This would bring […]

Praying in the Workplace

A recent case from the federal trial court in Gulfport, Mississippi, dealt with a certified nursing assistant (CNA) who claimed she was discriminated against based on religion. She alleged that she was subjected to a hostile work environment and fired for reporting religious harassment. The court discussed some interesting points in its decision. Facts Shira […]

Social Media—You Can’t Unring the Bell

“Social media networks and blogs are now the fourth most popular online activity, ahead of personal e-mail,” says Attorney Cynthia L. Gibson. And they are getting more popular with HR for background checks. Unfortunately, she says, once you turn up information you don’t want, “you can’t unring the bell.” Gibson is senior vice president, Legal, […]

Examine Your Interview Process: Is It Effective?

Being able to identify employees with long-term potential is truly an art form, and companies that get it right typically outperform those that don’t. The companies that excel have a well-defined system in addition to having key decision-makers highly engaged early on and throughout the interview process. Furthermore, companies that are successful in identifying great […]

Hot List: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, December 4. 1. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein. The neo-liberal economic policies—privatization, free trade, slashed social spending—that the Chicago School and the economist Milton Friedman have foisted […]

Misclassified Employees Can Mean Big Payouts

In yesterday’s CED, attorneys Veronica Gray & E. George Joseph warned of the coming crackdown on misclassification of independent contractors. Today, classification factors considered by government agencies and the courts, as well as an introduction to a can’t-miss webinar next week. Misclassification is high on the DOL and IRS agendas, so it’s a good place […]

Legislation Introduced to Revise the FMLA

Apparently, Congress isn’t done expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA.) Just a few weeks ago, two different bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would expand the scope of the Act. FMLA Compliance Manual, including a quarterly compliance bulletin with updates on the FMLA Specifics of proposed legislation On April […]