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Are Your Workplace Policies Prepared for Generative AI?

As generative artificial intelligence (GAI) technology, such as ChatGPT, finds new and greater uses in the workplace, employers must consider the myriad of legal and other issues that come with it. For good reason, employers increasingly are implementing policies to mitigate potential risks and ensure safe and permissible uses of GAI by employees. In this […]

Teacher Entitled to Return to Same Job After Difficult Pregnancy

A district court’s refusal to grant an employer’s motion for summary judgment in a fired teacher’s interference and retaliation claim is a clarion call and reminder to employers that the Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees employees that their original job — or its equivalent — will be waiting for them when their FMLA leave has […]

vacation

An FMLA Day in the Middle of Vacation? Nice Try, Court Says

United Airlines was within its rights when it decided to fire an employee who it determined had abused his Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. He took 1 day of medical leave in the middle of a planned, 20-day vacation, after unsuccessfully trying to get coworkers to cover his shift, court documents show.

Best of DEI Content 2023

This year, there was not only pushback from diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives by some organizations, but there was also pushback from DEIB programs in various industries. Despite these setbacks, fostering an environment of DEIB is more important than ever – and the businesses that embrace these values are the ones that will thrive […]

Readers Respond: Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

A few weeks ago, we reported on a recent survey that collected real-life excuses employees used for being late. Employers beware of employees indulging in Thanksgiving leftovers; one worker blamed his tardiness on the turkey. (He was sleepy after eating it!) We asked our readers to share the strangest excuses they’ve heard for being late […]

Dismissals for incompetence: Are we moving backward or forward?

by Rhéaume Perreault and Michael Adams It appears that employers in Quebec who wish to dismiss employees for incompetence may now need to accomplish an additional step before doing so. Indeed, the Superior Court of Quebec, in Commission scolaire Kativik v. Ménard, 2017 QCCS 4686, recently confirmed an arbitration decision in which an additional criterion […]

The Importance of Reskilling and Upskilling in an AI-Driven Work Environment

Upskilling enhances and broadens an individual’s skills while reskilling involves acquiring new skills for a different job or career. In this era of automation, both upskilling and reskilling have become crucial since they allow workers to adjust to evolving technologies and job demands. People often use the term “future of work,” I believe a significant […]

$1.3M Settlement in COBRA/ARRA Class Action Now Final

On April 23, a federal district court in Alabama gave final approval to a settlement agreement under which an employer and plan administrator will pay $1.3 million to a group of former employees who alleged they never received COBRA election or premium subsidy information after their involuntary termination of employment.  The case is Hornsby v. […]

Blacklisting Rule Halted Ahead of Effective Date

The so-called blacklisting rule will not take effect on October 25, 2016 as planned. A federal district court Monday night granted a request to temporarily halt the regulation requiring federal contractors to report employment law violations to agencies that award contracts (Associated Builders and Contractors of Southeast Texas, et al. v. Rung, No. 1:16-cv-00425 (E.D. […]