Newsletter Articles
When it comes to avoiding religious discrimination claims and looking for a good pair of sweat pants one thing is key: flexibility. You don't want to be so rigid that there isn't any wiggle room! At least that's what our partner Peter Gillespie of Fisher & Phillips says about steering clear of religious discrimination. You can read more about his advice here. Additionally, you can check out some rad sweat pants here.
Employees, they sure are characters! And sometimes characters...they sure are employees! At least according to our buds at Ford Harrison who are working on a "literature's worst HR nightmares" bracket. This combines so many of my interests: competition, employment law and literature. Boo Radley could. GO. ALL. THE. WAY!!!
Click here to learn more and to submit characters/nightmares.
You know that scary feeling when there is a knock on the door and you weren't expecting anyone? WHO COULD IT BE? AH!!! Well magnify that by a hundred million and you get the fright of a visit from a DOL investigator. Remain calm! Breathe! Our pals at Ogletree Deakins have a few tips to prepare you for this terrifying possibility. Click here to read more.
Oregon
Starting January 1, Oregon employers who are subject to the Oregon Family Leave Act must allow employees to take up to two weeks unpaid leave per year to deal with the death of a family member. What does this mean for you? A new poster and probably a new policy to start with. What does this mean for me? Not a whole lot because I live in Chicago.
Click here to learn more from our partners at Ogletree Deakins.
New York
If you haven't already figured out that misclassifying workers as independent contractors is bad for business, I hope this news sets you straight. New York has joined the federal government's misclassified workers "crackdown"--yeah, that does sound serious! Click here to find out what to expect from this new development.
You know the saying “better safe than sorry”? Well what if what you do to be safe is what makes you sorry? HUH, what then? Background checks are a common way employers protect themselves, but sometimes they end up being the problem! Kinda like in “Titanic” when they realized turning the ship did more damage than hitting that iceberg straight on. (The statute of limitations is up on Titanic spoiler alerts. The ship sank, Jack died (controversially), my heart will go on.)
If you don’t want to accidentally sink your business by doing what you think will keep it afloat, click here to read more about doing background checks right from our partners at Troutman Sanders.
Illinois
Late to the game as usual, in July Illinois became the 50th state to allow the concealed carrying of firearms. Now the Illinois State Police have released the required sign to prohibit concealed weapons on private property. It is pretty straight-forward as far as signs go: a red x through a gun. I’m not kidding, that is what it is. To download the new poster, click here.
In unrelated news, John Stewart is talking mad smack about our pizza.
Federal
Maybe you keep up with CNN and the news and paid close attention to Obama’s speech about what to expect from the rest of his term, but maybe you spend more time trying to find a new series to binge watch on Netflix instant. First, you should know that specifics mentions were made about “workplace fairness” which leads those in the know to expect some legal shakeups. Second, I highly recommend Psych, Parenthood, and Sherlock,
Click here to read about the possible amendments to Title VII, the NLRB’s 2014 doings, and more (I’m talking minimum wage, hiring, benefits – big stuff!).
Pennsylvania readers: be sure to read to the bottom for a “closer to home” look at what this means for you!
Federal
As our partners at Shawe Rosenthal write in this handy article, hopefully you guys all know and understand your obligations under the FCRA with regards to background checks (and if you don’t, I bet there’s a handy chapter in your Human Resources Manual on HRsimple.com), but did you know your obligations extend as a former employer? FCRA also requires employers to investigate disputed information from an agency report. Even from former employees. Say what?!
Click here to read more.
Federal
In case you guys forgot, I thought it’d be good time to remind you about the super amazing app from our pals at Fisher and Phillips that lets you and your managers track and measure how much FMLA leave employees have left. (You know, in case you got a new smartphone for the holidays and are just crazy about downloading new apps!)
Just put in the employee’s info and dates and press “calculate now” – yeah, there’s a “calculate now” button!
Click here to read more.