Tag: Employment law

Puerto Rico Health Insurer Will Pay Record $3.5M HIPAA Settlement

A Puerto Rico health insurer agreed to pay $3.5 million in a HIPAA settlement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, investigating multiple breach reports from the company, found what it called “widespread noncompliance” throughout the organization. Triple-S Management Corp. is an insurance holding company that offers many insurance products and services through […]

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3 tips on firing employees—Les Miles/Mark Richt “silly season” edition

With the college football regular season coming to a close, you may have noticed that a different kind of season has begun, a time referred to by authors and sports bloggers alike as “silly season.” The fun (and farce) is typically kicked off by the mid- to late-season rumors that a formerly promising coach of a prominent […]

Yogi Berra: baseball great and secret HR consultant

by Dennis Merley Baseball hall of famer Yogi Berra passed away in September at the age of 90. In addition to being a great player for the perennial champion New York Yankees in the 1950s and early 1960s, he was known as a type of clown-prince for his penchant for amusing malapropisms related to baseball […]

Talking turkey and mulling mediation

by Christopher J. Pyles Many (many) years ago when I was in college, I spent Thanksgiving Day with a bachelor uncle at a football game. In celebration of the season, we bought a frozen turkey on the way home . . . and sadly discovered that you can’t just toss a turkey in the oven […]

Legal haze: accommodating employees who use medical marijuana

by Kyla Stott-Jess One of the hot topics discussed during the recent Canadian federal election was the possible legalization of marijuana. The Liberal Party, which won the election, took a position in favor of legalization as part of its platform. As the country waits to see whether the new government will put forward legislation to […]

Collies in the cubicles? Exploring pros and cons of pets at work

Who couldn’t use a cute, cuddly friend at work? One that’s not the least bit judgmental, one that is loyal and devoted, one whose main goal in life is to build you up when the pressures of work get you down. If only your dog could go with you to work.  A number of companies […]

More penalties under ACA? The cost of failure to file went up

by Jamie Brabston As employers prepare to comply with the upcoming information-reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which remain in place after the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell, Congress snuck higher penalties for failing to meet those requirements into a trade bill. House Resolution (HR) 1295, known as the Trade Preferences […]

Haunted by work

This blog’s mission is to be witty, entertaining, and informative. That mission is difficult when the headlines are as sobering as what we’ve seen since last Friday in Paris. Before I launch into this week’s EntertainHR installment, I want to extend my sympathies to and express my solidarity with the people of Paris and, in […]

BYOD: privacy issues for Canadian employers

by Lorene A. Novakowski Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, programs are increasingly popular in Canada, as they are in the United States. Under a BYOD program, employers require or expect employees to use their own mobile devices for business purposes. The practice raises privacy concerns as well as concerns about ownership of company data […]

Coach or terminate? Developing a strategy for ‘difficult’ employees

What supervisor or human resources professional hasn’t asked the question: Why can’t people work together without deliberately making the working environment insufferable? Why don’t people use their energy to solve differences instead of lashing out in anger? There may be no easy answers to those questions, but understanding why conflict occurs and following a strategy […]