Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Matthew H. Parker Senior-level employees often enter into contracts stating they will receive separation pay if their employment is terminated unexpectedly. For example, employers often promise executives severance pay unless they are fired “for cause.” Other times, a company will promise that an executive can resign and collect severance pay following a change in […]
by Ed Carlstedt This week’s employment law lesson comes to us from the movie Horrible Bosses. In the movie, Julia (played by Jennifer Aniston) is a dentist who employs dental assistant Dale (played by Charlie Day). After Julia uses her boss status to torture and torment Dale for most of the movie, Dale finally records […]
by Louise Bechamp A recent arbitration decision out of the province of Quebec (available in French only) involving the director of a bankrupt corporation serves as a reminder that directors can be personally liable for unpaid employee wages, notice of termination, and vacation pay.
Employers are generally willing, even eager, to invest time, energy, and money into bringing on a superstar employee. They’re confident the payoff that comes from hiring a star will make the effort worth it. But what if the employer also has a toxic employee? Will a strong hire counteract the damage? A recent Harvard Business […]
Somewhere between outrage, bewilderment, and comedy falls the news that a U.K. production company has cast very very very white actor Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson in Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon, a short film about a rumored post-9/11 road trip involving Liz Taylor, Michael Jackson, and Marlon Brando. There has been much criticism of this particular casting decision, […]
by Mark I. Schickman U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death marks a landmark in American law. Off the bench, he was avuncular, professorial, funny, and friendly, a mind like a machine gun, dangerous and quick. In last year’s biggest employment case, EEOC v. Abercrombie and Fitch, Scalia was the most aggressive questioner of the […]
by Cathy Chandler The workplace can play an essential role in helping individuals maintain positive mental health. However, it also can be a stressful environment that may contribute to mental health issues and illness. In a 2009 study three out of 10 Canadian employees reported that their work environments were not psychologically safe or healthy. […]
When a workplace accident results in an employee being injured, an employer is likely to experience a visit from a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspector. Such a visit is no time for an employer to guess about how to handle the agency’s investigation. Recently attorneys from the Employers Counsel Network, which focuses […]
by Boyd Byers Several HR managers I work with sometimes refer to employees as their “children” and joke that at times (particularly when they’re dealing with their “problem children”), they feel more like grade-school teachers than HR managers. A recent study reaffirms the inherent truth in this analogy. From the playground to the workplace Childish […]
Who wants to be the next Bill Gates in the making? The answer may surprise you. Beyoncé (or “Queen Bey”), a music scene A-lister and the woman who “runs the world” (if you ask her legions of devoted fans, known as the “BeyHive”), gives the world’s richest man a major shout-out in her new single, “Formation.” […]