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Law Protects Workers’ Wages When Employer Is Insolvent

by Kate McNeill of McCarthy Tetrault and Brian P. Smeenk formerly with McCarthy Tetrault Canada’s federal parliament has passed a law to protect workers when their employers become insolvent A key component of Bill C-12, passed December 14, 2007, is the creation of the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP). The WEPP provides statutory wage protection […]

How Festive! Company Says Have Your Wedding in the Workplace

Every girl dreams of her wedding, but not many dream of having it where they work. That is, unless you work for the Bank of Korea! Media report that the Bank’s headquarters even has a 200-seat auditorium as the venue, complete with a bride’s waiting room.  And the entire venture was designed and approved by […]

DOL’s Top Independent Contractor Trouble Spots

As seen in yesterday’s Advisor, the determination of independent contractor status can be tricky. Today: DOL’s top contractor problem spots, and a guide that picks up your FLSA problems before the feds do. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) points out the following particular problem areas for employers when it comes to determining whether a […]

Dispute Resolution: What Are Your Recommendations Concerning Arbitration Agreements?

I’m tasked with making a recommendation concerning arbitration agreements for our employees. My questions are: Do you recommend these agreements? For all employees? How do we go about establishing this for new and current employees? Any particular pitfalls to watch out for? — Elaine, HR Specialist in Encino   The typical employee arbitration agreement requires […]

‘Music to My Ears,’ Says Your Employee’s Attorney

In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured the first nine of attorney Adam Klein’s "Management mistakes that are music to my ears." Today, we’ll add a few more of his favorites, and we’ll take a look at an extraordinary policies program that will help your managers avoid those costly mistakes. Klein usually represents employees in suits against […]

Know What Your Employees Want to Get Them in the Door

Attracting and keeping talented employees is incredibly important and often very difficult. In a post-industrial society, businesses run more and more on people and less and less on nonhuman capital like factories, vehicles, and machinery. At the same time, with historically low unemployment rates, employees have added flexibility to be picky when it comes to […]

Tame Turnover with Low-Cost Work/Life Balance Programs

In yesterday’s Advisor, we offered tips for reducing turnover and increasing productivity. Today, the rest of the story, plus good news about job descriptions. [Go here for steps 1 to 5] Step 6: Communicate with your employees Communication is critical for reducing turnover. Remember that communication needs to go both ways. You need to share […]

Severance Agreements: Older Worker Who Signs Release Can Still Sue You; Supreme Court Rules

Once a terminated employeehas signed a release promising not to sue and has cashed theirseverance check, you probably think you are free from their legalclaims against you. In most cases, you’d be right. But you couldbe in for an expensive surprise if the employee is 40 years orolder and your paperwork isn’t perfect. That’s because […]

Healthcare workers’ longer hours don’t necessarily increase health, safety risks

by Rosalind H. Cooper Most employers know that there are restrictions under employment standards legislation regarding maximum hours of work for their employees. In certain circumstances, it is possible to exceed these daily or weekly maximums. However, care must be exercised when doing so in order to avoid a breach of the employer’s duties under […]

Hospital Pays Millions for HIPAA Violations after Unauthorized Filming

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently reached a $2.2 million settlement with New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) for the egregious disclosure of two patients’ protected health information (PHI) to film crews and staff during the filming of “NY Med,” an ABC television series, without first obtaining authorization from the […]