Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Brandon Long It’s rumored that President Ronald Reagan once referred to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) as “Every Ridiculous Idea Since Adam.” ERISA serves important purposes in our society, but it also presents tremendous challenges and potential liabilities for good-intentioned employers that merely want to provide nice benefits to their […]
More and more employers are suffering from a shortage of talent at the same time jobseekers are struggling to find work. That seemingly implausible situation has become the reality in many fields as the world of work deals with a still-struggling economy and epic change brought on by rapid technological advances. A study from workforce […]
Another step in tightening the employment law obligations of federal contractors has begun with an Aug. 19 directive that protects individuals with claims of gender identity and transgender status from discrimination. The directive, from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs under the U.S. Department of Labor, was spurred by an executive order issued by […]
by Joe English and Ariel Dubrow The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has the ability to subpoena a broad array of documents and records from third parties. Responding to such a subpoena can impose a costly burden on third parties. EEOC’s broad subpoena powers An employer’s dealings with the EEOC typically stem from an administrative […]
This past week, the entertainment world lost one of its best and brightest to an apparent suicide. Robin Williams, who brought laughter to so many for so long, took his own life at the age of 63. So much has been written about his talent over the past week that it’s difficult to understand or […]
By Clayton Jones When confronted with information that an employee may be abusing paid sick leave, it is only natural for an employer to want to investigate further. One way in which employers may do this is through the surreptitious surveillance of the employee. However, such surveillance is of limited value unless the employer will […]
If it’s not review season at your organization, you probably aren’t thinking about performance evaluations. Often review time comes around just once a year, and it’s not top of mind any other time—possibly because so many people dread the process. For human resources professionals, that process can be even more stressful than it is for […]
by Jason R. Mau Since 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has provided eligible employees with job security for unpaid leave related to certain family and medical issues, including serious health conditions and the care of a newborn baby, a newly placed foster child, or an adopted child. The serious health condition protections […]
by Hannah Roskey We have all been faced with employees’ buyer’s remorse. They accept a severance package, sign a release, cash the severance check, and then claim that the release is unenforceable. Recently the Alberta Human Rights Commission considered this very issue in Marquardt v. Strathcona County.
When investigating a breach of IT network security leading to leakage of protected health information, HHS looks for consistency in the covered entity’s response — with both HIPAA rules and the organization’s own written procedures, according to a former official with HHS’ Office for Civil Rights. OCR tends to “expect a perfect assessment done the […]