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You are here: Home / Archives for Hiring & firing
HARASSMENT

Russian-American workplace discrimination: It’s a thing now

March 19, 2022 by

By Lynne Curry Question: Like many other employees that need highly skilled employees and want to diversify their labor pool, ours has hired several Russian emigrants. Other than coworkers complaining that these employees’ accents make understanding them difficult, we had no problems—until Russia invaded Ukraine. At first, nothing occurred that created worry. Many of our employees knew little about Ukraine and so peppered the emigrants with questions. But as the horror of what was happening in Ukraine continued, our employees grew angrier. Several employees asked their Russian-born coworkers how they could possibly “defend” what was going on. Things got worse when one of the emigrants defended Putin, calling him a strong leader. How much trouble do we get into if we fire this one employee? While she’s technically skilled, she’s… . . . read more

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DRUGS & ALCOHOL

High at work: Anyone else smell that?

March 19, 2022 by

By Paul Edwards More often than you would think, we get calls from managers wondering what they can do about someone whom they think is impaired at work. When that happens, we immediately go into crisis control mode because, well, impairment at work is never acceptable. In this article, we are going to discuss impairment and odors from the perspective of marijuana legalization. From job candidates showing up to interviews smelling like a skunk to employees showing up to their shift distracted with bloodshot eyes, knowing how to handle an employee’s potential marijuana use has only gotten more complicated. Currently, marijuana legalization is in limbo between state versus federal government. While many states have moved to legalize or decriminalize its use, marijuana is still an illegal Schedule I drug under… . . . read more

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MANAGING THE OFFICE

The top 8 policies to include in your employee handbook

July 7, 2021 by

By Krystal Barghelame  What is an employee handbook? An employee handbook is an important living document for your employees that outlines your company policies, history, and culture for current and future employees. Although 87% of businesses with 10 to 200 employees have employee handbooks, HR experts agree that it’s best practice to start a handbook as soon as you hire your first employee, because it defines expectations and can protect you legally. Here are the main policies you’ll want to record in that employee handbook: Onboarding and joining the team One of the top motivations for businesses to create an employee handbook is to train new hires. So, kick things off by laying out the basics that every employee should know before coming through the front door. The employee onboarding section… . . . read more

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HIRING AND FIRING

Eligible/ineligible for rehire vs. constructive discharge

June 9, 2021 by

By Lynne Curry Here’s a real-life question where the employee feels she has an issue—but it’s truly the employer’s problem. Question: After working for an abusive supervisor for more than a year, I plan to give notice. The last straw was when she confronted me yesterday. She said I hadn’t completed a project, and she expressed her dissatisfaction by grabbing my arm and shouting at me. My company requires that employees give two weeks’ notice, or we’re ruled ineligible for rehire. I don’t want to work here again, but I’m afraid being labeled “ineligible for hire” will prevent me from getting a good job. Please don’t tell me to go to human resources or any senior manager for help. I’ve sought help from HR and never received any. I’ve sent… . . . read more

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HIRING & FIRING

Hiring mistakes come at a higher price amid pandemic

April 14, 2021 by

A hiring mistake could cost your office more today than it would have a year ago. New research from a global staffing firm shows more than three in four senior managers surveyed (77 per cent) admit to recruiting the wrong candidate for a role, and more than half (56 per cent) said the negative impact is more severe now than it was a year ago. Four months lost on one hiring mistake When it comes to their most recent regrettable hire, senior managers said it took 11 weeks, on average, to realize the person was a poor match and to let them go, and an additional 5 weeks to restaff the role. That’s a total of 16 weeks, or 4 months, of time squandered on a recruiting blunder. Companies have… . . . read more

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EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

EEOC charges down but lawsuits rising

March 4, 2021 by

By Mike O’Brien bio EEOC data for FY2020 show dip in charges filed The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its Fiscal Year 2020 Enforcement and Litigation Data report on Feb. 26, 2021. The EEOC reports that 67,448 charges of discrimination were filed in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2020, compared to 72,675 charges filed in the previous fiscal year. The agency made headway in addressing a backlog of charges, resolving 70,804 charges during FY2020, and securing $439.2 million for victims of discrimination. Continuing the trend of recent years, retaliation was the most commonly-asserted claim, made in 55.8% of all charges. Disability, race, and sex discrimination claims each were asserted in roughly a third of charges filed, at 36.1%, 32.7%, and 31.7%, respectively. Age, national origin, color, and religion… . . . read more

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EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

How HR regulations could change under Biden administration

November 20, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio Employers may be wondering how a Biden administration will affect workplace laws. Prior to the election, Biden’s campaign website gives some clues as to his priorities in this area. Biden lists the failure to pay minimum wage and overtime pay, forcing off-the-clock work, and misclassifying workers as problems resulting in billions of dollars a year in wage theft. To address those issues, he proposes a phased-in implementation of a $15 per hour federal minimum wage (including eliminating the tip credit). He also supports the adoption of a more stringent test for classifying workers as independent contractors, similar to the ABC test employed by California. This type of test would almost certainly result in many more workers being deemed employees and fewer being properly classified as independent… . . . read more

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EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

New overtime rule now in effect

January 20, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio Jan. 1, 2020 was the deadline to comply with new FLSA overtime rule. At the end of September the Department of Labor issued its long-awaited final rule updating the salary level test for white-collar overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the new rule, the minimum salary level for exemption is raised from $455 a week to $684 a week, or $35,568 annually. The change marks the first increase in the minimum salary level to take effect in more than 15 years. It is expected to bring overtime eligibility to over a million employees who are ineligible under the current threshold. Although the DOL released a final rule raising the salary level in 2016, the rule was blocked by a federal district court and… . . . read more

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EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

Pay rates, vacations while recovering, gig economy

November 19, 2019 by

Department of Labor enters final stage of update to ‘regular rate’ rule under FLSA. As we have discussed previously in these updates, the Department of Labor has been working to update the definition of “regular rate” of pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act

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HIRING

Step by step guide to successful lateral hiring

September 27, 2019 by

Attracting a lateral hire requires more than sending out a request for resumes.
To find the candidate it wants, the firm has to decide on the specific qualifications it…


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