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HR Management

Wearable technology: A Pandora’s box of HR evils?

09/07/2016
The wearable technology revolution affects a host of seemingly unrelated employment law issues.

Prepare to pay much more for OSHA violations

09/07/2016
Last November, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was given authorization to increase its penalties by up to 82%, to account for several decades’ worth of inflation.

Explosion in Middletown leads to OSHA scrutiny

09/07/2016
Two employees at Middletown, N.Y.-based Oprandy’s Fire & Safety Equipment suffered severe injuries when a compressed gas cylinder they were filling exploded.

Arbitration decisions tend to stick

09/07/2016
There’s a downside to agreeing to decide disciplinary matters in arbitration. Once you agree to have your decisions second-guessed in arbitration, don’t expect to get the arbitrator’s decision easily overturned.

After firing, how fast do you block network access?

09/07/2016
When employees depart, shut down their access to your servers ASAP.

Contractor in deep hole after repeat trenching violations

09/06/2016
For the sixth time in the last 10 years, Houston-based Oscar Renda Contractors faces OSHA safety violations involving unsafe trenching practices.

Houston tortilla maker flattened by $106k fine

09/06/2016
La Espiga de Oro, a Houston-area tortilla bakery, faces $106,700 in fines for multiple safety violations following an inspection by OSHA investigators who descended on the plant after receiving tips about unsafe working conditions.

Court: Arbitrators — not judges — should decide validity of arbitration agreements

09/06/2016
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has handed arbitrators the power to decide if arbitration agreements are valid. The appeals court ruled that it was legitimate to ask whether an arbitration agreement applied to an employee’s pre-existing Fair Labor Standards Act claim, but that it was a question best answered not by a judge, but by an arbitrator.

What’s the worst quality a manager can have?

09/06/2016
When asked to reflect on the qualities of their worst boss, employees in a new study by consulting firm Appirio didn’t point to penny pinchers who were cheap with raises and promotions. Instead, they recalled emotionally distant and uncommunicative managers.

Fed contractors must soon disclose past labor violations

09/06/2016
The Obama administration on Aug. 24 released final rules and guidance for implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which  requires federal contractors to disclose past labor law violations before they can win new federal business.