Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Many states have statutes prohibiting discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Not all states have such prohibition, and since there is no broad federal prohibition on discrimination by private employers based on either category, that leaves local ordinances to address the issue. A look at what is happening in […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady The horrific violence at Virginia Tech again raises security issues for all workplaces. BLR’s founder offers some tools to hopefully stop trouble before it strikes. We join the nation in grief over the violence and mayhem at Virginia Tech this week. As the parent of a recent college […]
Wow, is this tough. I really don’t know whether I can get the words out. Still, I know it’s true, so I have to say it—so, here goes . . . no, no . . . wait. OK, take a breath, calm yourself, and just let people know what’s on your mind: The Cubs are […]
While large businesses’ profits have steadily increased since mid-2009, smaller companies have faced a tougher road. However, there may be signs that small businesses plan to ramp up hiring in 2011. The optimism index of the National Federation of Independent Business measures small business confidence, and is often an indicator of the sales growth, market […]
BusinessWeek ranks paperback business books that are the most recent bestsellers and provides a short summary. 1. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Author Malcolm Gladwell says snap judgments deserve careful consideration. 2. The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. Author Thomas L. Friedman says globalization is great — […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Francis Alvarez discussed legal risks of wellness programs. Today, practical considerations and an introduction to a popular wellness guide. Each organization has to decide for itself where it belongs on the wellness/risk continuum, says Alvarez, a partner in the White Plains, New York, office of national employment law firm Jackson Lewis. […]
By Michael E. Barnsback That was the question we received at the conclusion of the ADA Compliance Virtual Summit, which I conducted with Audra Hamilton on June 15, 2011. The question was reasonable after conference participants learned that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) new regulations emphasize that the focus of the Americans with Disabilities […]
Leading employee benefits attorneys recently discussed rules on calculating workforces and identifying to whom the employer must make an offer of coverage. Vanessa Scott, a partner with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Washington, D.C., and Malcolm Slee, of Counsel at the Groom Law Group, Washington, D.C.,discussed the counting and measuring rules spawned by health care reform during […]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that employers can prohibit employees from using company e-mail to send union-related messages while allowing some personal use of e-mail. In a 3-2 decision dated December 16 but released December 21, the NLRB majority ruled that the e-mail policy of Eugene, Oregon, newspaper The Register-Guard wasn’t a […]
by Elaine Young Employers wanting to hire foreign workers through the H-1B visa program need to be ready to file petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on April 1. U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields. The first […]