Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Lyne Duhaime When an employee in Canada fails to fulfill his functions as expected, the ultimate consequence is a termination of employment “for cause,” which implies that no notice or other severance is paid to him by the employer. The Superior Court of Quebec recently went further. In Valeurs mobilières Desjardins inc. v. Beaulne, […]
Litigation Value: More fodder for potential sexual harassment, sexual orientation, and national origin claims, but it could have been worse. At least Andy didn’t run naked through the parking lot with a doughnut on his ding-dong — that would have put me off of Krispy Kreme for awhile. Was really looking forward to being able […]
As the public grows somewhat used to data breaches, simply having to acknowledge one might no longer be devastating to customer relationships, but how and when to communicate remains critical to damage control, a data security expert said in a recent webinar. In 2005 or 2006, when customers would be notified of a breach, “many would […]
Companies that wrongly pay workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, strip workers of benefits and protections and put responsible employers at a competitive disadvantage, according to Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., who this week proposed increasing penalties on employers found to have misclassified workers. Woolsey’s bill, The Misclassification Prevention Act, (HR 3178) is the most […]
The days when only unionized employers needed to worry about the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are over, said attorney Charlie Plumb during his presentation at the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium (AEIS) in Nashville. Employers should be concerned about two big changes happening in the NLRB and with labor unions that Plumb believes will become […]
“The Garden Party” episode was light on employment litigation but heavy on workplace psychology. Poor Gabe. His capacity for humiliation knows no limits. I wasn’t sure he could sink lower than his public dumping at the hands of Erin last season, but then we witnessed his repeated sycophantic toasts of Robert California. Sad, right? Maybe […]
By Ralph Nero and Keri Bennett Historically, the character of employment or level of position has been an important factor in determining appropriate severance payments in Canada. Unskilled or lower-level employees have typically been entitled to less severance than more highly skilled and higher-level employees. Some decisions have capped severance for such lower-level positions at […]
Unless they protect themselves, employers using unpaid interns risk running afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws. Indie movie spinoff Fox Searchlight (a division of Twentieth Century Fox) has been slapped with a lawsuit by two interns who worked on the set of the award-winning film, Black Swan. In Eric Glatt […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is trying to buck a trend. While government budget cuts have become the norm, the EEOC is requesting for fiscal year 2012 an $18 million increase from 2011. The agency says it needs more money to restore enforcement and legal staff positions, modernize technology, and expand training, among other […]
The law that amended the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed in September 2008, and although more than three years would seem sufficient to digest the change a new law brings, the regulations for the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) weren’t effective until May 24, 2011. So HR professionals and attorneys alike in many cases […]