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Family and Medical Leave: Supreme Court Says State Employers Can Be Sued for FMLA Violations; Little Impact in California

In recent years, several U.S. Supreme Court rulings have barred employees from suing states under a variety of federal employment statutes, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. But a new high court ruling gives state workers a victory, finding they can sue their employers for violating the Family […]

WSJ’s Top Small Workplaces: How Teamwork Helps

In yesterday’s Advisor, we listed common traits of The Wall Street Journal’s 15 top small companies. Today we’ll explore one of those traits—teamwork—taking our cue from a unique BLR resource, Managing an HR Department of One. For many of the top small workplaces, teamwork is an important part of the structure and atmosphere. Why is […]

National Mentoring Month: mentoring benefits company, employee, and community

HR professionals know that mentoring programs that pair an experienced colleague with a new employee can benefit a company by creating bonds, fostering knowledge sharing, and building confidence. Similarly, mentoring programs that pair adults with adolescents  create a unique supportive relationship that allows the mentor to offer guidance gained through years of experience.  January is […]

Whistleblowing: Worker Gets $37 Million For Turning In Employer

A recent case dramatically illustrates the financial incentive employees have to blow the whistle on their employer. A federal judge has awarded $24 million to Robert Merena, a former SmithKline Beecham billing analyst who charged that the company defrauded the government by billing for unauthorized and unnecessary lab tests under Medicare and other government programs. […]

Guaranteed New Year’s Resolution—Bulletproof FLSA Compliance

Happy New Year, readers. Here’s one resolution that you can easily keep—to audit your exemptions and pay practices (before the feds make good on their resolution to do it for you).  If yours is like most organizations, you’ll get the biggest bang for your New Year’s buck with an FLSA audit. The astounding amounts of […]

Should You Strive to Know Less About Your Employees?

In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Joseph L. Beachboard talked about the increasing threat of retaliations lawsuits.  Today, steps you might have to take, plus an introduction to the other great lawsuit preventer, the HR audit. Eric had Standing First, back to Eric from yesterday’s Advisor. The Supreme Court found that Eric, who was fired because of […]

Accommodating Employees: Employer Agrees To Settle Suit By Hearing-Impaired Employee

A hearing-impaired worker in Los Angeles who requested a sign language interpreter for meetings–and instead was allegedly told by her supervisors to read lips and try harder–will receive $100,000 to settle her claim that her employer failed to accommodate her under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a confidential settlement, the government employer also agreed […]

Appeals Court Holds Part of Health Care Reform Law Unconstitutional

On Friday, August 12, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta held 2-1 that the individual health insurance mandate provision found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the comprehensive health care reform legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law in March 2010, is unconstitutional. More specifically, the court found […]