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6/1/2013
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6/1/2013
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6/1/2013
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6/1/2013
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6/1/2013
Blogs
When opportunity knocks
by Dan Oswald Abraham Lincoln once said, “I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” And for Lincoln, the opportunities did come in large part because he created them. He was known for his hard work and determination. But it all started with two things: his willingness to prepare and his understanding that opportunities will present...
Categories: Blogs
Telecommuting pitfalls and practice pointers
by Katherine O’Neill With the recent callback of telecommuters to the office by Yahoo!’s CEO Marissa Mayer and Best Buy leadership, the debate about the use of telecommuting has been reignited. While many employees view the ability to telecommute as a value-added benefit, employers should consider the legal risks of the arrangement...
Categories: Blogs, Technology for HR
Another NLRB recess appointment ruled invalid
Nearly four months after an appeals court ruled that recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) made in 2012 were invalid, another appellate court has ruled a previous recess appointment unconstitutional. The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled May 16 in NLRB v. New Vista Nursing & Rehab. that President Barack...
Categories: Blogs
Age diversity becoming new priority for employers
The statistics don’t lie. More people are planning to work beyond what once was a traditional retirement age. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has projected that the primary working-age group—those ages 25-54—will decline from 66.9 percent of the labor force in 2010 to 63.7 percent in 2020. Workers 55 and older are projected to go...
Categories: Blogs
She works hard for the money
by Kylie Crawford TenBrook Several years ago, I attended a celebration for one of my brothers, who had just become an Eagle Scout. Several relatives were there, including some distant relatives I hadn’t seen in years. One of those distant relatives, who is close to my age, approached me, and the following exchange took place. (The comments in...
Categories: Blogs
Balancing act: religious accommodations vs. diversity goals
by Tara Martens Miller Freedom to believe and practice your own religion is a strongly held American value as well as a right recognized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and most state organizations charged with receiving and investigating claims of discrimination. Sometimes, however, an employee’s expression of religious...
Categories: Blogs
Beware of sex-stereotyping claims
by Taylor Chapman In many situations, it is relatively easy to understand what constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex. For instance, you cannot refuse to hire an applicant because she is a woman or treat a female employee differently from a male employee because of her sex. The legal requirements become more uncertain, however, when an...
Categories: Blogs
NLRB nominees face opposition during Senate committee hearing
On May 16, President Barack Obama’s nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) went before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the two nominees who were selected as recess appointees in 2012 failed to impress the committee’s ranking member, Senator Lamar Alexander. Alexander (R-Tennessee) said he would...
Categories: Blogs
Finale
Litigation Value: Bless your heart if you’re still keeping track at this point. This blog has always focused on bad behavior. We tease out employment law issues by writing about the characters who do things in the workplace that one simply does not do. So last night’s series finale of the The Office poses quite a challenge in that...
Categories: Blogs
Minnesota 12th state to recognize same-sex marriage
by Michael G. McNally The Minnesota Marriage Equality Bill, HF 1054, was signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton on May 14, 2013. Effective August 1, 2013, Minnesota will allow individuals of the same sex to marry. Employers need to review their policies relating to employee health and retirement benefits to reflect this change. What changes are...
Categories: Blogs
Fast-food worker strikes, ‘alt-labor’ movement spreading
A wave of strikes by fast-food and other low-wage workers continues to spread in major cities around the country as employees take action to increase their pay and gain other workplace rights and benefits. Strikes have taken place in New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, and Milwaukee as the movement appears to be gaining strength. The...
Categories: Blogs
New Oklahoma law confirms enforceability of nonsolicitation agreements
Although noncompetition agreements remain unenforceable under state law, a new law confirms that Oklahoma employers may enforce agreements prohibiting former employees from soliciting a company’s employees to leave their jobs to work for another employer. For some time, Oklahoma employers have been able to contractually prohibit former employees...
Categories: Blogs
Social media and nonsolicitation agreements
by Jeanne S. Saffan The use of social media continues to explode both inside and outside the workplace, and the courts have been busy deciding cases that have arisen when personal Internet posts have affected business interests. Several cases specifically address former employees’ posting of messages and their obligations under...
Categories: Blogs, Technology for HR
49ers forgo short-term gains to make long-term investment in character
by Dan Oswald A few weeks ago, the San Francisco 49ers, with the 131st pick in the NFL draft, chose Marcus Lattimore, a running back out of the University of South Carolina. Considered by many to be the most talented running back in the 2013 draft, Lattimore wasn’t chosen until the fourth round because he had suffered not one but two knee...
Categories: Blogs
No nonsense
Litigation Value: Office romance with the new Regional Manager (and A.A.R.M.) = fodder for a potential sexual harassment claim; eliminating nonsense from the workplace = every human resources manager’s dream; Dwight giving up a milk maid to marry his long-time love and father his beet-loving offspring = priceless. As John Krasinski...
Categories: Blogs
Vermont governor to sign equal pay bill into law on Tuesday
by Sophie E. Zdatny House Bill 99, titled “an act relating to equal pay,” has cleared both chambers of the Vermont Legislature and is set to be signed into law by Governor Peter Shumlin on Tuesday, May 14. The final bill amends Vermont’s Fair Employment Practices Act to provide that an employer may pay different wage rates to employees of...
Categories: Blogs
Texas joins majority of country by passing Uniform Trade Secrets Act
by Mike Maslanka On May 2, Governor Rick Perry signed the newly enacted Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which takes effect September 1. Texas is the 48th state to pass the law, proving that while Texas may not always be first, it is never last! The law, put simply, is a big deal. It wipes away, with a stroke of the governor’s signature, all...
Categories: Blogs
Business groups applaud ruling against NLRB poster
Probusiness groups are cheering a new ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that represents another blow to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The appeals court, which issued another ruling against the NLRB in January, ruled on May 7 that the Board exceeded its authority in its effort to require...
Categories: Blogs
Reporting harassment or public shaming?
by Mark I. Schickman You send an employee to a computer industry conference. The people in the seats behind her utter a barrage of sexist jokes about the conference topic―about the size of their “dongles” or a desire to “fork your repo.” She thinks the comments are inappropriate and offensive. What should she do...
Categories: Blogs, Technology for HR
Conclusion of college commences life of learning
by Dan Oswald My oldest graduated from college this weekend. In addition to reminding me that I am, indeed, getting older, it caused me to consider what sage career and life advice I might have for him. My first thought was that I had the order of those two things reversed—that I should be providing him advice on life first and career...
Categories: Blogs
