Preview / Hot News
► Heat-Related Injuries Are This Summer's Hot Topic
May 5, 2023
As summer heats up, employers in the Southwest should keep a close eye on how heat affects their workforce. Heat-related illness is a hot topic for the federal Occu-pational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well as state OSHA plans. Recently, an unusual settlement involved the ...
► Beware of Impersonators Hijacking Your Company's Identity
April 24, 2023
Just when it seems consumers have caught on to one particular online scam or phishing expedition—think of the ubiquitous Nigerian prince email scam that first began making the rounds in the 1990s—a new one comes along. By now, the list seems endless: online dating scams, bank and ...
► Time to Review Severance Agreements After NLRB Ruling
April 20, 2023
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in McLaren Macomb has both union and non-union employers taking a second look at their severance agreements. In McLaren Macomb , the Board decided that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by ...
► How to Use a Phishing Simulation to Train Employees
April 19, 2023
Cybercrime is at an all-time high, leaving companies, government agencies, and consumers at risk of severe data breaches. Data suggests phishing emails account for 91% of all cyberattacks. Despite efforts to mitigate these scams with advanced security measures, phishing tactics ...
► Major Improvement in Employment-Based Visa Renewal Process
April 17, 2023
A major improvement in U.S. immigration processing is on the horizon for employers. The U.S. State Department just announced a pilot program to once again offer visa renewals by mail without traveling to a U.S. consular post. This will be a major relief to U.S. employers. Visa Stamps = Travel ...
► Big-Bucks Supervisor Scores Overtime Win
April 14, 2023
Many employers labor under the miscon-ception that a highly paid employee is necessarily exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). After all, the FLSA was enacted in 1938 to protect low wage workers by requiring employers to pay a minimum wage (currently ...
► Religious Discrimination: New Employer Obligations Ahead
April 13, 2023
The title is a prediction, not a done deal. But no later than June 2023, I believe the U.S. Supreme Court will jettison a 46-year-old case that neutered an employer’s obligation to reasonably accommodate all aspects of an employee’s religious observance or practice. And what will the ...
► Writing an Effective Performance Improvement Plan
April 10, 2023
If you’ve ever had employees who were struggling in their role, you’ve probably considered your options. It’s a sticky situation to be in. You could let them go, creating a huge headache of turnover time and costs; you could retain them at their current capacity, leaving you ...
► Workplace Investigations: Another Critical Duty in Your HR Hat
March 24, 2023
As an HR professional, one of your many duties may include conducting a thorough investigation into various issues that arise in the workplace. Whether the issue involves a claim of harassment, a claim of discrimination or a claim workplace misconduct, it is critical that you take steps to ...
► NLRB Places NDAs in its Crosshairs
March 22, 2023
On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) made a broadside attack on precedent, confidentiality, and non-disparagement provisions in severance agreements signed by rank-and-file employees. The far-reaching decision calls into question the enforceability of standard severance ...
