HR Management

Documented insubordination can often sink employee’s discrimination lawsuit

01/31/2012

Employees who sue for discrimination have to prove they are members of a protected class, were qualified for the position they held, were terminated or subjected to another adverse action and were treated less favorably than employees outside their protected class. Employers that can show the employee was insubordinate can quickly win such cases.

You never have to tolerate fights in the workplace

01/27/2012

Violence in the workplace is a harsh reality, but employers must provide a safe work environment. That may mean terminating employees who threaten other employees or get into fights.

Staff Twitter accounts: Who ‘owns’ the followers?

01/27/2012

If your employees post on their work-related Twitter accounts, a pending lawsuit in a federal California court could answer an important question: Who owns that Twitter “handle” and those followers when the employee leaves?

HR issues are a hot topic in state legislatures

01/26/2012

With Congress focused on election-year politics, keep an eye on your state for potential changes to employment laws, says the Society for Human Resource Management. Some issues on tap: background checks, paid sick leave, mandatory E-Verify and workplace bullying.

Consider having a witness to employee meetings

01/25/2012

When it comes to litigation, who said what is often the crux of the matter. That’s why it’s important to have a witness during any meeting involving bias complaints.

Save on legal fees: The 7 most common law firm billing errors

01/24/2012

If part of your job is dealing with outside attorneys and reviewing their invoices, know what kind of overcharges to look for. You can save the company money and prove your bottom-line impact to the top brass. Here are the seven most common errors to watch for.

UCLA, professor charged in lab tech’s 2009 death

01/20/2012

A laboratory fire that killed a UCLA technician has resulted in felony charges against the university and Professor Patrick Harran, who ran the lab.

FMLA: Flare-ups every Friday? Check it out

01/20/2012

While employees with chronic medical conditions are typically entitled to FMLA leave, such intermittent absences are fertile ground for abuse. After all, an employee on intermittent leave can simply call in and say his condition is acting up. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless if you suspect abuse.

What should an anti-violence policy include?

01/18/2012

Q. We do not have a workplace violence policy and would like to prepare one. What should we include in the policy?

How should we go about reviewing our violence-prevention program?