12/31/2012

In another decision that affects non-union as well as union employers, the National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that comments posted on Facebook are protected in the same manner and to the same extent as comments made at the "water cooler."more

12/28/2012

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to accurately record the hours their employees work and to compensate them for each of those hours. While this mandate appears simple enough, there are several traps an employer can fall into with regard to accurately recording the time that an employee actually works.more

12/27/2012

Here is a rundown on two lesser-known sections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that every human resources professional with non-exempt staffers should know about: on-call time and waiting time.more

12/26/2012

Last week, the IRS issued two announcements that will affect its Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) that was first instituted in September 2011.more

12/21/2012

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced its approval of a Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) that establishes agency priorities and integrates all components of the EEOC's private, public, and federal sector enforcement activities. The final SEP includes some significant differences from the draft plan released in September.more

12/20/2012

Many were in favor of the Obamacare mandate preventing health insurance companies from turning away individuals with pre-existing conditions. But two questions remained: How much would it cost and who would pay for it?more

12/19/2012

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives by a vote of 388-4 overwhelmingly approved a one-page bill that broadens the scope of what constitutes an employer's trade secret under the Economic Espionage Act (EEA).more

12/14/2012

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (Kansas,et al.) recently clarified that discharging an employee within two days of a request for medical leave does not by itself establish a violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if there is uncontroverted evidence that the employee would have been discharged in the absence of the leave request.more

12/13/2012

A recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Ill., et al.) concerning one Latice Porter, a data entry specialist in the Field Services Section of the Chicago Police Department, affirms an often-cited precedent on the limits of reasonable accommodation.more

12/10/2012

Better settle the case, right? Not if you are Flannery Oaks Guest House. Instead, you move for summary judgment and try to get your former employee's Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation claim dismissed.more

12/07/2012

By this time, most companies are aware of their right to monitor employee email activity at work. But as these cases show, putting an email monitoring policy to work comes with some dangers.more

12/05/2012

Want to guarantee yourself a jury trial in an age-discrimination case? Just mention the word "younger" to any employee age forty or above right around the time you fire him.more

12/03/2012

The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Wis., Ill., Ind.) recently affirmed an employer's decision to terminate an employee because it reasonably believed the employee was lying about his use of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave.more

11/30/2012

Marijuana use — either medicinal or recreational — is now, or will shortly become, legal in over one-third of U.S. states. What do the recent changes in marijuana legislation mean for you and your company?more

11/29/2012

The Supreme Court is currently mulling over one of the most basic questions in today's workplace: Who fits the legal definition of "supervisor"? The high court's ruling could have a substantial impact on employee discrimination lawsuits.more

11/28/2012

The case of Merivic Inc. and Zurich North America v. Enrique Gutierrez involved a workers' compensation claimant who had a ninth-grade education and a "limited working knowledge" of English despite having lived in the United States for 34 years, according to the decision.more

11/27/2012

It is a challenge to convince a business person that unlike any other business contract, when a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) has expired, virtually all of its terms continue to be in effect.more

11/26/2012

It is not every day that flying animals that lived almost 150 million years ago play a prominent role in a gender discrimination case.more

11/23/2012

A new court ruling reiterates that employees cannot take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to prevent themselves from being fired.more

11/21/2012

Every HR professional has come across applicants who try to game the system — to hide something in their past, or cover holes in their resumes. And the Digital Age has given them some new tools to trick prospective employers.more