Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Litigation Value: Implementing an antinepotism policy = $800; medical bills for Dwight’s tumble from his secret standing stool = $1,000; applying your “buffalo wings passion” to all aspects of your life = priceless. Last night’s episode contained some interesting revelations about our friends at Dunder Mifflin Sabre. Indeed, Creed may be part of a secret […]
By Marisa Victor and Yael Wexler An employment contract can provide certainty and protection for both the employer and employee. But what happens when it comes time to renew it? A recent Ontario case shows what can go wrong when an employer offers an existing employee a revised contract in order to address performance or […]
For more than 70 years, the Fair Labor Standards Act has allowed employers to pay some workers with physical or mental impairments less than the federal minimum wage. H.R. 3086, introduced by Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) and Gregg Harper (R-Mo.) earlier this fall, would change that. HR 3086 would phase out special wage […]
Federal investigators fined an Arkansas farm $8,000 for illegally hiring a 10-year old to pick blueberries and for other wage and hour violations . The Labor Department also has recovered $1,160 in back wages for four of the farm’s workers. “The laws and regulations for vulnerable young workers are very specific, and employers in violation […]
By Rosalind Cooper Recently, courts across Canada seem to be expanding the application and coverage of occupational health and safety legislation, providing broad and liberal interpretations of legislation. But that may be changing. The decision in Ontario (Ministry of Labour) v. Sheehan’s Truck Centre Inc. is being welcomed by many as an indication that the […]
Litigation Value: Dunder Mifflin seems to have escaped the week without major liability. But that doesn’t mean that everyone behaved. Another week, and Andy is still looking for ways to motivate and inspire his team. You’ve got to hand it to him: his analogy of business as war is, at least, more logical than most […]
by Mark I. Schickman At its heart, the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) football scandal is a criminal matter. But it’s also the ultimate example of sexual harassment being permitted to recur openly, continuously, and notoriously in a workplace. It’s a sober reminder of what can happen if any person or group believes they are bigger […]
By Bill Duvall Employers in Canada have taken comfort from the fact that most provincial workers’ compensation agencies provide benefits for workplace mental stress only in very limited circumstances. But that comfort may be threatened, at least in British Columbia. Earlier this month, the B.C. government introduced legislation that, if passed, will expand workers’ compensation […]
Litigation Value: minimum $300,000 if Dwight is retained. Once again, Dwight Schrute illustrates well what it means to “cross the line” while at work. He even raised the bar on inappropriate behavior at the Scranton branch, a feat we heretofore believed impossible. For those of you who missed this week’s episode, I’ll briefly describe. Pam […]
A wave of HIPAA privacy audits far more comprehensive than anything attempted to date was officially launched Nov. 8 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). While their official purpose is not enforcement, these audits are likely to cast a broader net than HHS scrutiny has to date — including possibly group […]