by Sophie E. Zdatny
At a recent Employers Counsel Network (ECN) conference in Alexandria, Virginia, several notable speakers stopped by to provide their insights on current developments in the employment arena at the national level and to share their predictions for President Barack Obama’s second term. Highlights include increased regulatory activity [...]

by Al Vreeland
In these pages, we try―often ham-handedly―to infuse a little humor into the very real workplace dilemmas you face on a daily basis. When we first conceived this article, obvious redneck gun jokes were, well, obvious. But the recent massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, has left us humorless, while recent events in several state capitals [...]

by Karen Gwinn Clay
Q Our management team wants to mandate that every employee get a flu shot. I know there will be resistance from our employees on differing grounds (religious belief, fear, and the like). Help!
A Unless an employee is in a health care setting, this is a difficult call. For hospitals, nursing homes, and [...]

by Michael G. McCourt
We now are fully involved in the crush of festivities and holiday shopping that traditionally mark the beginning of the sprint to New Year’s Eve. This is the season of peace on earth and good will toward our fellow man, right? Not always.
A Challenging Season
The holidays have the uncanny ability to produce [...]

Although the calendar shows winter is still a month away, employers would be wise to think now about how they’ll handle the challenges hazardous winter weather will bring.
When snow, ice, or other extreme weather shows up in the forecast, employers’ thoughts turn to how weather might prevent employees from getting to work and how those [...]

by Craig M. Borowski
The holiday season is almost upon us. Employers often use this time of year to show their appreciation for employees’ hard work and to celebrate with them in the workplace. Unfortunately, however, even an office party planned with the best of intentions can create legal liability for your company [...]

What would your company do if it was faced with a crisis? It’s a question that’s getting harder and harder for businesses to ignore, especially in the face of crises such as Superstorm Sandy.
Employees aren’t just ‘human resources,’ they’re human beings
When many companies look at disaster planning, they focus on how to prevent crises [...]

When a hurricane, tornado, flood, or other natural disaster hits, HR must have plans for employee safety, business continuity, and a dozen other issues. With that in mind, we rounded up resources to help you make sure you and your organization are prepared to respond to HR issues before, during, and after the storm.

By Michael P. Maslanka
Editor’s note: Fall is here, and for a lot of die-hard fans, that means just one thing — it’s football season. But the first three weeks of this football season were marred by a referee lockout that meant a lot of bad calls and missed penalties by the replacements. Many commentators also [...]

An employee is arrested and something must be done. Do you fire the employee because you don’t want to put up with someone who lands in jail? Or do you wait to get the facts, maybe even wait for the legal system to run its course before making an employment decision?
A related quandary is with [...]