We’ve written plenty about the feds investigating and fining businesses for their employment practices. But rarely do we see lawsuits brought against the DOL by small business owners. Rhea Lana Riner, the franchisor of Rhea Lana’s, a chain of children’s consignment stores, recently filed a lawsuit against the DOL claiming the agency’s investigations of her were […]
Posted on January 21st, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 32 Comments »
No, no, no: There’s no workaround that lets you fire pregnant employees because you only accommodate restrictions from incidents that are “work-related.” She ‘resigned’ Jennifer Latowski worked as a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home, and had passed four essential functions tests throughout her 18 months on the job. Then she became pregnant. The company requested […]
Posted on January 20th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 168 Comments »
If you do get questioned by the EEOC about a potential bias charge, here’s a thought: Be very, very clear about why you fired someone. A difficult conversation Zann Kwan had been working for a small family-owned real estate management company for about 18 months when she had a sensitive discussion with her CEO. Kwan said […]
Posted on January 19th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 159 Comments »
As technology continues to evolve, non-traditional work arrangements like flex plans and telecommuting are playing a growing role in today’s staffing structures. But these newfangled ways to work can carry some thorny legal issues. Attorney Laura Maechtlen recently wrote a spot-on analysis of the pitfalls of flexible work environments on the Seyfarth Shaw Labor […]
Posted on January 18th, 2014 by admin
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Poison can be a silent killer, undetectable until it’s too late. The same can be said of a poisonous workplace. You may not know there’s a problem until your best workers start dropping like flies — that is, unless you can spot the symptoms. There are a number of things that can poison the […]
Posted on January 17th, 2014 by admin
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It’s starting to look as though the National Labor Relations Board may have to redo more than a year of work — more than 600 decisions it made in 2012. Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in NLRB v. Noel Canning, which challenges President Obama’s right to have made “recess […]
Posted on January 16th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 193 Comments »
Are you missing out on top talent because of a negative candidate experience? More than 42% of candidates prefer an online application process through a company’s career portal over all other means of applying for a job – where do your job postings point? Can they easily allow access to your career portal or do […]
Posted on January 15th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 199 Comments »
The Department of Labor (DOL) has weighed in on how it did in 2013. For the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, 2013, the DOL obtained $249,954, 412 in back wages for 269,250 workers. According to the DOL, since early 2009, the agency’s wage-and-hour division has closed 145,884 cases nationwide, resulting in more than $1 […]
Posted on January 14th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 188 Comments »
This new case study highlights how employers can make appraisals work for HR, managers and employees. Periodically, we like to offer success stories from HR pros from across the U.S. This account comes courtesy of Suzanne Benoit, director of HR at Wright-Construction, Inc., in Portland, ME, and Jathan Janove, director of Employee Engagement Solutions and Portland Managing Shareholder […]
Posted on January 13th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 408 Comments »
A company sets up a “no gossip” policy to curb workplace rumors — then fires a woman for violating the policy. The National Labor Relations Board then decides to look into the firing to see if it’s legal. Read the dramatized version of this real-life case and see if you can determine the outcome. The […]
Posted on January 12th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 189 Comments »
