Tag: Employment law

Who’s working at home, and is home the proper place?

Workers who battle drive-time traffic, spend a significant portion of a paycheck at the gas station, and fight the distracting hubbub of the office may dream of working amid the comforts of home. There’s no frustrating commute, no office annoyances. But a good many telecommuters worry that they’re missing something because they’re isolated from colleagues. […]

EEOC Plans Disability Hiring Goal for Federal Employers

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced May 15 its intent to issue regulations that create a plan for federal employers to serve as “model employers” of workers with disabilities — a plan that may include a hiring goal, according to the commission. The announcement came just weeks after a 7-percent hiring goal for federal […]

Chim, chimney

If you are a Mary Poppins fan, as I am, you were probably as excited as I was to check out Saving Mr. Banks, which is based on Walt Disney’s long-time efforts to bring Mary Poppins to the big screen. As chronicled in the film, that proved to be quite the challenge given that the […]

What you need to know about the continuing trend to regulate employers at the local level

by Marc A. Koonin The increasing regulation of private-sector employers at the city, county, and local regional agency level is a significant continuing trend. Many state and federal employment laws expressly allow or don’t expressly preempt further regulation at the local level. Such regulatory power was mostly dormant for many years because local government agencies […]

How trusting are employees? Study finds good, bad news for employers

Ever wonder how much employees trust their employers? Ever wonder if trust is even important? A new study from the American Psychological Association (APA) shows reason to worry about the level of trust workers have in their employers. As to the question of whether it’s important that workers trust their employers, the researchers say a […]

With pals like this, who needs enemies?

For those entrepreneurs who have struck it rich thanks to the Internet, Al Gore’s invention has been a wonderful thing. But a news story last week illustrated that the Internet also can cause a lot of headaches–even for the same people whose children and grandchildren may never have to work a day in their lives because […]

Will the abolishment of mandatory retirement result in longer notice periods?

By Ralph N. Nero and Nicole R. Singh You’re about to terminate an employee’s employment without cause. He’s been with you for 30 years, earns $100,000, has a middle management position, and is 69 years old. He could retire with a full pension. Surely you don’t have to provide him with a severance package? Absolutely, […]

Conducting internal investigations: avoiding claims of intimidation and coercion

by Randi J. Winter Employers routinely conduct internal investigations in response to allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, theft, and other forms of employee misconduct. Although conducting such investigations can be critical to your continued operations, you should be mindful of the importance of exercising neutrality and fairness during the investigative process.  Be thorough, but fair […]

Engagement: Should it extend to contingent workers?

Employers are always looking for the best ways to engage employees. They know a highly engaged workforce means good morale, enhanced productivity, high retention of talented workers, an environment conducive to innovation and creativity, and the list goes on. Recently, some experts have even advocated extending engagement efforts beyond an employer’s regular employees. With contingent […]