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Employment Law

State workers get union ballots

07/01/2008
A drive by the labor coalition Colorado WINS to represent 32,000 state government employees through “partnership agreements” has seen a successful, if not overwhelming, first round. Roughly 30% of 22,500 state workers who received ballots in May returned them, with a majority voting to join in the agreements …

The right way to prepare for layoffs … and some alternatives

07/01/2008
Because of the nationwide economic slump, layoffs are a hot topic these days. What sort of employment law issues should HR professionals consider when the possibility of laying off workers becomes increasingly likely? Here’s a step-by-step guide for smoothing out a difficult and painful process …

About those waiver-and-Release agreements

07/01/2008
Q. Are there any special requirements for waiver-and-release agreements? …

Salary reductions and exempt status

07/01/2008
Q. We are considering reducing salaries across the board because of a slowdown in business. Will reducing the salary of exempt employees jeopardize their exempt status? …

Unpaid time off and exempt employees

07/01/2008
Q. Some of our exempt salaried employees are requesting time off without pay. Can we do this without jeopardizing their exempt status? …

FMLA leave when a military spouse returns from active duty

07/01/2008
Q. An employee reported that her husband, who is a soldier, is returning (safe and sound) from active duty. She wants to take off a month to be with him after being apart for so long. Is this FMLA leave? …

How many kinds of harassment policies do we need?

07/01/2008
Q. We have a sexual harassment policy. Is that enough? …

Terminations: 6 steps to ensure firing won’t backfire

07/01/2008
In most states, workers are employed on an “at will” basis, meaning they can leave the company at any time. Conversely, employers typically retain the right to terminate workers at any time for any legal, nondiscriminatory reason. Courts continue to chip away at the at-will doctrine, providing less flexibility to employers. This has led to an increase in wrongful discharge lawsuits …

Demanding coffee may be gauche, but is it harassment?

07/01/2008
Maybe she was a bit of a drip, but one employee got in such a froth about her bosses’ demands for coffee service that she sued. Did she really have grounds to bring a harassment and retaliation lawsuit? Did her employer wind up in hot water?

HR Specialist Editors Bring You the Best from SHRM Chicago

06/24/2008
For a week each year, the Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual Conference becomes the center of the HR world. HR Specialist editors have joined 13,000 of our peers in Chicago this week for four days of professional development covering HR’s hottest topics and presented by the profession’s  leading experts. Here’s some of the best from the world’s biggest HR conference.