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3 Tips To Ring in 2011 the Right Way

Yesterday, we looked at 3 New Year’s HR tips from James J. McDonald, Jr., managing partner of the Irvine office of Fisher & Phillips, LLP (www.laborlawyers.com). Today, 3 more tips from McDonald, and an invitation to a can’t-miss webinar on California recordkeeping.

Tennessee Senate OK’s ‘guns in parking lots’ bill

Legislation giving handgun carry permit holders the right to keep guns in their vehicles in public parking lots, including their employer’s parking lot, passed the Tennessee Senate Monday evening, 28-5. The bill, which will go to the House Civil Justice Subcommittee Wednesday afternoon, would give civil immunity to employers for deaths, injuries, or damage involving […]

Quick Knockouts of Some Human Rights Complaints in Canada

by Hadiya J. Roderique Human rights claims are an increasingly common occurrence for Canadian employers. Employees or former employees can initiate these claims at little or no cost in most Canadian jurisdictions (the various provinces, territories, or the federal sphere). An employer must defend human rights claims to avoid an award of damages or other […]

Is Obesity a Disability? Jury’s Still Out, but It’s a Serious Matter

Even though there’s no definitive rule on whether obesity is a disability under the amended, more employee-friendly Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you should be careful about how you treat overweight and obese employees. One in every three Americans age 20 and up was obese between 2007 and 2008, and about the same percentage was […]

Indiana employers need to be ready for religious freedom law

by Angela Johnson and Martha Lemert The new Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act (IRFRA) is set to take effect July 1 after being signed into law in March and then amended in April because of objections that the statute would be used to discriminate, particularly on the basis of sexual orientation. In its amended form, […]

Health and Safety : What You and Your Employees Need to Know About Workplace Fire Safety

The largest single settlement Cal/ OSHA ever collected—$462,000—was for a work-related fire. In 1999, Tosco Refining Co. was cited for 33 alleged violations of state workplace safety regulations as a result of a fatal fire at its Avon plant near Martinez. Thankfully, most workplaces won’t experience such tragedies, but even so, OSHA reports that workplace […]

Text Messages: The New Employment Files?

In the age of iPhones, BlackBerries, and similar devices, text messaging is becoming as ubiquitous in the workplace as it is everywhere else. But as an employer, are you at risk of dropping the ball on essential recordkeeping because vital communications are transmitted on phones — often personal phones that don’t belong to the company?

Controversial Immigration Reform Bill in the Works

by Hector A. Chichoni Senate Immigration Subcommittee Chair Charles Schumer (D-New York) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) are working together on a comprehensive immigration reform bill that they plan to introduce this year. In a recent Washington Post article, the senators laid out their plan’s “four pillars”: requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure that […]