Month: September 2012

When what’s good for business isn’t good employment law: What warrants termination for cause?

by Kyla Stott-Jess Is a Canadian employer justified in terminating an employee for cause when that employee has disobeyed company policy? What if the consequences of the employee’s failure to follow policy put other employees at serious risk of harm? Not necessarily, said the Ontario Supreme Court recently in Barton v. Rona Ontario Inc. Rather, […]

Yours, Mine, or Ours?–The 11 E-Info Risks

Special from Atlanta–SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition Employee use and abuse of personal tech devices, e-mail, and social networking is suddenly a high priority HR concern. It’s a big challenge to establish realistic—and legal—policies, says attorney Joseph Beachboard. Beachboard, who is a shareholder in the Los Angeles office of employment law firm Ogletree Deakins, details […]

Obama and Romney Agree, Affirmative Action Needs to Change

Eye on the Election For today’s topic of likely changes to affirmative action after the election, we turned to Susan Schoenfeld, J.D., Senior Legal Editor for BLR’s human resources and employment law publications. Schoenfeld was formerly an attorney with the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in Washington, D.C., where she […]

Safety Attitude Survey Enhances Training

Every employee must be dead serious about safety—or they could end up dead. As well as taking job safety seriously, a positive attitude is reflected by other factors, such as: Being willing to learn about safety and health issues Complying with all safety regulations, rules, and procedures Taking personal responsibility for safety Focusing on and […]

What NOT to wear to an interview

Litigation value: $0.00, but only because Pete has a conscience and Daryl is a cinephile. In last week’s season premier, new guy Pete was compared to Jim, while other new guy Clark was compared to Dwight. I’m all good with the former comparison, but the latter is waaaay off. Dwight beds his women using blunt […]

NFL lockout hits pay dirt with employment lessons

By Michael P. Maslanka Editor’s note: Fall is here, and for a lot of die-hard fans, that means just one thing — it’s football season. But the first three weeks of this football season were marred by a referee lockout that meant a lot of bad calls and missed penalties by the replacements. Many commentators […]

Diversity Training Exercise 2: True or False?

Before having trainees take the following True-False quiz, inform participants that although there are no specific laws or regulations that require workplace diversity, diversity is at least in part about equal opportunity, and provisions of the following federal fair employment laws should be kept in mind: Age Discrimination in Employment Act Americans with Disabilities Act […]

Stepping Up Security with Panic Buttons

Wisconsin lawmakers and others working in the state capitol in Madison now have access to panic buttons. The devices have been installed underneath the desks of legislators, aides, and other officials. Reportedly, the buttons were introduced with the arrival of a new capitol police chief who has also increased the numbers of citations and arrests […]