Most Popular

Economy and talent drought may force widespread diversity

Surprise, surprise: Leaders of international executive search firm Epsen Fuller have noticed severe deficits in diversity at the executive level. And they know of what they speak: The firm is the U.S. member of IMD International Search and Consulting, the 14th largest executive search firm network in the world. The firm’s own research reveals that […]

News Note: Retaliation, Sexual Harassment Claims Rise

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that the number of cases involving sexual harassment and retaliation is increasing. Retaliationclaims, the fastest-growing type of complaint filed with the EEOC, have gone up more than 77% between 1992 and 1999. A total of 11,096 retaliation charges were filed in 1992, but by 1999, the number had jumped […]

News Flash: LAPD Can Fire Unqualified Officer Who Was Hired By Mistake

When Eugene Quinn applied to be a Los Angeles police officer, he failed the medical exam because of a hearing impairment. But due to a clerical error, he was told to report for further training exams, which he passed. Quinn graduated from the police academy and was assigned to patrol duty before his hearing problem […]

Employee Lawsuits: Workers’ Comp Release Barred Sexual Harassment Claim; 4 Tips You Can Use

Mary Jefferson, a teacher’s assistant for the California Youth Authority (CYA), said that a CYA teacher and his students regularly used derogatory language when referring to women, such as “bitch,” “whore” and “slut.” Jefferson filed a workers’ compensation claim, contending that she suffered work-related stress from a sexually hostile work environment. Jefferson also filed a […]

Time to Terminate At-Will Disclaimers? No! Says Expert

In today’s we-want-to-be-the-employer-of-choice world, isn’t it counterintuitive to be telling each new employee, “We can fire you for any reason or no reason”? In the face of the numerous exceptions to employment-at-will status (see yesterday’s Advisor), why would any company bother with at-will statements? Even though it may seem wrong from a morale standpoint, and […]

GOP Emphasizes Job-hindering Aspects of Health Reform Mandates; Feds Clarify Employer Guidance

In spite of its one-year suspension of the employer mandate under health care reform, the government added implementation and compliance materials for employers to government websites. Meanwhile Republican legislators attacked not only reform’s revenue and penalty collection functions, but also its definition of full-time employees as 30 hours per week, saying it must become 40 hours a […]

Dangers of Bias in AI Recruiting Tools

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a number of applications in many industries. While some fear that AI has the potential to one day cost them their jobs by either making them obsolete or by literally taking over the tasks of the job, many people are unaware that AI may play a key role in getting them a job. […]

New California Employment Laws: Get Prepared

Governor Jerry Brown recently vetoed four of the five bills the California Chamber of Commerce identified as “job killers.” The one job-killer bill signed into law is Assembly Bill 22, which severely restricts a prospective employer’s use of credit reports to screen applicants.

Disaster and Recovery in Tennessee

Last weekend, we experienced one of the worst disasters ever to hit Middle Tennessee as historic floods ravaged the state. M. Lee Smith Publishers, the company that produces HR Hero and other HR products including the state Employment Law Letters, is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. On May 1 and 2, record […]

How to Avoid FRD Claims–Step by Step

For better or worse, the American workplace is different than it was, and perhaps also different from how we want it to be. HR managers have to bridge the gap, says attorney Christopher Leh. People want the workforce to be a family, where managers and employees can talk about anything and everything. But the fact […]