Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Last week’s post lamented the August heat (call it an inferno) many parts of the country are enduring, while looking ahead wistfully to the promised land (call it a paradise) of a new season for The Office. In the midst of this entertainment limbo, I took the suggestion of a fellow blogger and sought inspirational […]
These Queen lyrics fit what’s going on with President Obama’s nominees to the Wage and Hour Division: And another one gone, and another one gone; another one bites the dust! President Obama withdrew the nomination of Leon Rodriguez to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. […]
by Nicola Sutton The recent decision of Limited v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal has upheld random alcohol testing where the workplace is determined to be “inherently dangerous” and the method of testing is minimally intrusive. This is an important case for employers seeking […]
Yesterday, we noted that because of anti-discrimination and credit reporting laws, when it comes to using social media to gain intel on prospective employees, HR professionals cannot just act like kids in the candy store. Why, they can’t even act like kids in the candy aisle at the grocery, because there are even more legal […]
Recently, an employee argued in an association discrimination claim that he was fired because his employer feared he would be distracted at work by his wife’s disability. That excuse didn’t pan out, because in fact the employer was just fed up with the individual’s poor performance, making it a legitimate employment termination. So in a […]
I feel like I’m trapped in sitcom purgatory, stuck between The Office episodes of yesteryear and the glorious Scranton Promised Land where James Spader reigns supreme as the new branch manager. If you are like me, and find the combination of August heat and reruns to be oppressive at times, I have the following suggestions. […]
On May 31, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision awarding $923,656 in back pay to a terminated employee of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), an agency of the U.S. government. The decision shows the damages available to employees that prove retaliation based on the filing of an Equal Employment […]
“Should employers be allowed to screen job candidates based on their online behavior even if their actions are not pertinent to t he listed job?” That was the query today from Washington Post financial columnist Michelle Singletary. For human resources (HR) staff, this is not a theoretical question; it’s a very real struggle. The brave […]
In these times of serious belt-tightening, especially in the public sector, everyone is looking for ways to save money. Some are willing to take the risk of breaking the law to do it, and some of them get caught — and waste a lot more money as a result. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) took […]
If Superman had to get government approval on at what point the removal of his Clark Kent suit turns him into a superhero, he might end up feeling like he hit a wall of Kryptonite. That’s likely how many employers feel as they try to deal with conflicting regulatory and judicial opinions on when an […]