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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has entered into an agreement with Wheeler Construction in which Wheeler will pay two employees a total of $325,000 to settle a race discrimination claim. The case may reflect the EEOC’s increased attention to race discrimination claims, which, like other discrimination claims, are rising at a rapid rate. HR […]
Litigation cost: $0 – $50,000 Even though NBC is taking a break from The Office this week, we aren’t. The latest webisode, “Blackmail,” may be short but it packs a potential punch for Dunder Mifflin. Creed wreaks quiet havoc by gathering his colleagues’ best-kept secrets and using them to extort favors or a paltry $6 […]
By Derek Knoechel and Lorene Novakowski Canadian provinces have workers’ compensation legislation that provides a no-fault system of compensation for injuries suffered on the job. The system covers lost wages, medical aid, and rehabilitation for the injured worker and generally removes the injured worker’s ability to sue the employer. The workers’ compensation system is funded […]
On February 10, 2009, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington) again introduced the Family Friendly Workplace Act, which, if passed, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and authorize private employers to provide compensatory (or “comp”) time off in lieu of overtime pay. For almost 20 years, the public sector has been using comp time, […]
by Rachel Blue Lately, we’ve seen a lot of employees walking out of buildings and plants with boxes of framed photos from their desks or lockers, and maybe a severance check in an envelope. The job cuts this time are deeper, and the next job may be further away than in the past. As a […]
Employment law attorney Troy Foster reflects on the “Stress Relief” episode of The Office and reminds employers that while reruns may work in prime time, letting workplace problems reoccur is dangerous. Litigation Value: $615,000 and rising . . . Haven’t we been down this road before? The “Stress Relief” episode of The Office just keeps […]
The recent decline in financial markets has caused Canadian pension plans to become significantly underfunded. For instance, in Québec close to 97 percent of all defined benefit pension plans are currently underfunded. As this continues, many employers may look for ways to reduce pension costs or at least offset increases of those costs. Such losses […]
Time magazine is running a feature about The Office and NBC’s invitation for viewers to send in photos of hijinks in their own workspaces, like those often featured on the show. Some of the pranks featured on the show have been hilarious. From simple things like Jim enveloping Dwight’s stapler in Jello, to more complicated things like […]
ACME Insurance Company employs 500 employees and managers at its Toronto head office. They work in a pleasant, some might even say tranquil, office environment. In the 50-year history of the company, there has never been any hint of violent behavior in the workplace. To the contrary, some people find it too quiet there. Bawring, […]
Alexander Passantino’s advice to the lovelorn may not be the makings of the next Sex and the City show, but his pen holds serious sway with hipsters of the payroll specialist in crowd. Alex is the acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). As the grand oracle of […]