Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Monique Orieux Last year in Northern Exposure we shared five key lessons about Canadian employment contracts arising from the trial court’s decision in Miller v. Convergys CMG Canada Limited Partnership. The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently issued its decision in the case: Miller v. Convergys CMG Canada Limited Partnership, 2014 BCCA 311. Its […]
Dedicated, hardworking—and maybe even long-suffering—employees deserve rewards. Sometimes the appropriate reward is a well-deserved raise, but money isn’t always the best solution. And in today’s world of tight budgets, it’s often not even a possibility. But employers wanting to show appreciation have other options. In the Business & Legal Resources webinar “Small Budget, Big Employee […]
E-mails, audio recordings, and video surveillance. This trifecta of evidentiary support was put front and center in two disturbing incidents from the sports world that made headlines in the past week. Earlier this week, Atlanta Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson stepped down, stating his intention to sell the team, because of a 2012 e-mail that he […]
by Jeffrey A. Gruen The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will now refer all untimely retaliation claims to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to determine whether an employer engaged in an unfair labor practice (ULP) under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Background On March 6, 2014, David Michaels, OSHA’s assistant secretary of […]
by David McDonald When an employee announces that he or she is resigning in order to go work for a competitor, it is only natural for an employer to become anxious—particularly when the departing employee has access to the business’s confidential information. Complicating matters further is the technological ease with which an employee can wrongfully […]
A former employee of a Massachusetts-based health insurer pleaded guilty to one count of illegal disclosure of Social Security numbers, after federal prosecutors alleged she stole plan members’ SSNs and other personal identifying information as part of a scheme to defraud the government. Emeline Lubin faces a possible prison sentence of up to five years […]
I live in the South. This time of year, that means college football; that also means otherwise healthy friendships will erupt with enough recrimination, envy, taunts, and ill will to put the Corleones and Tattaglias to shame. Everyone crows that this is their year , we’re going to come out on top, and what-do-you-mean-that-overtime-loss-last-month-means-we-can’t-play-for-the-championship? (Except […]
by Mark I. Schickman In June, the U.S. Supreme Court finished one of its most interesting terms in recent memory when it comes to employment law. While it’s difficult to find a consistent pattern in the multiple waves of rulings that were issued, one theme emerges: a limitation on governmental authority in areas that have […]
by Mohamed Badreddine There is little dispute that senior employees owe a duty of good faith and loyalty to their employers. But what about junior employees—do they owe their employers the same duty? And if so, can they be fired if they violate that duty? Depending on the situation, the answer may be yes—at least […]
Ahh, the human resources department. The place where compassionate, friendly people solve problems in the workplace. A place filled with intelligent professionals uniquely qualified to turn conflict into comfort. Or maybe that’s not what the HR department should be at all. Maybe HR should empower others to handle certain workplace issues on their own rather […]