Most Popular

Thompson’s Top HR Stories of 2015

The start of a new year offers the opportunity to take stock, and to plan ahead. It’s anyone’s guess what 2016 will hold for human resources professionals, but looking back at the stories that drew the most interest from our reader community provides some useful insights on what to watch for in the new year. […]

Supreme Court Seeks New Accommodation in Birth Control Case

Religious non-profit employers that are not eligible for a church exemption seemed more likely to change the process of opting out of the Affordable Care Act requirement that health plans cover contraceptives and family planning services without cost-sharing. In a two-page order dated March 29, the U.S. Supreme Court told lawyers arguing Zubik v. Burwell, No. 14-1418 (cert. […]

Severance

EEOC challenges traditional severance agreements in untraditional way

by Burton J. Fishman The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken a bold step to challenge standard and accepted provisions in severance agreements in a recent suit, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., CA no. 14-cv-863 (N.D. Ill., 2014). There are two particularly important elements in this suit.  The first is that […]

HR Quiz: Telecommuting and H1N1 Flu

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has declared H1N1 influenza, commonly known as the Swine Flu, to be an epidemic. It seems like every national nightly news program brings more stories of outbreaks, school closings, and even deaths — and it’s just the beginning of flu season. What’s a conscientious employer to do? Take the […]

Employees on the autism spectrum: guidance for employers

by Tammy Binford Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) – a group of developmental disabilities that can cause social, communication, and behavioral challenges – affect one in 88 children and one in 54 boys, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That makes autism the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States, […]

Tales from the healthcare exchange portal

by Jason Lacey On October 1, we reached a big milestone for the implementation of healthcare reform: the opening of the public insurance exchanges. OK, so the day was largely symbolic, and nothing really took effect. It just happened to be the first day we could take a look at what’s available through these new […]

Must-Know Facts about Employment Contracts in Canada

McCarthy Tetrault Q. When does an employer have an employment contract with its employees? A. Every employer in Canada has an employment contract, whether written or unwritten, with each of its nonunion employees. Sometimes, only some of the terms are in writing. When necessary, courts will imply reasonable terms in the absence of any express […]

Compliance framework is proposed for Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program

by Thora Sigurdson In June 2014, the Canadian government introduced changes to the country’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). These changes were intended to make it more difficult and expensive for Canadian employers to hire temporary foreign workers (TFWs), thereby encouraging employers to search within Canadian borders to staff their workforce. While the changes to […]

Court Rejects Government Worker’s Age, Gender Suit

Jeffery Akers was a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). He sought a promotion but didn’t get it. Instead, a younger woman was given the position. Akers believed that his age and gender prevented him from getting the promotion, so he filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission […]