The new year is off and running, but it’s not too late for human resources professionals to make a few employment law-related resolutions that should make their lives easier in 2012.
Sexual harassment policies
Boyd Byers a partner with Foulston Siefkin LLP in Wichita, Kansas, says attention to sexual harassment policies should top the list of resolutions [...]

by Boyd A. Byers
The thirst for revenge is among the strongest of human emotions. In fact, the innate desire to “get even” has driven much of history. But acting on vindictive feelings can have dire consequences — particularly in the world of employment law.

by Vaughn Burkholder and Tara Eberline

What do the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Congress have in common? Sound like a setup for a bad joke? The punch line is that each of those federal entities has announced its intention to focus on employers’ misclassification of employees as independent contractors. [...]

by Boyd Byers
Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an initiative to combat work-related distracted driving. OSHA’s first point of focus is texting while driving.

by Boyd A. Byers
Super Bowl Sunday is February 7. About 140 million Americans will watch the game on TV, and 20 million will attend a Super Bowl party. While doing so, we’ll eat 20 million pounds of potato and tortilla chips. Let’s look at some other Super Bowl-related numbers for you to ponder in your [...]

A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that clearly and unmistakably require union members to arbitrate age discrimination claims are enforceable. While the decision is unlikely to affect many employers, the ruling is the latest in a series of Supreme Court decisions finding arbitration to be [...]

by Donald D. Berner and Forrest T. Rhodes
The election of Barack Obama as the next president, coupled with the Democratic Party’s increased majority in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, is certain to bring changes. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which President-elect Obama and Democratic congressional leaders vow [...]

(Updated April 2009)
by Boyd Byers
Writer Sebastian Junger coined the phrase “perfect storm” to describe the simultaneous occurrence of different weather phenomena that combine to create a powerful nor’easter (a storm blowing from the northeast). Is a confluence of cultural, economic, and political events whipping up a perfect storm for [...]

In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion expanding the range of employer conduct that employees could use to support a retaliation claim. But as with anything new, questions immediately arose. Is a dirty look now considered retaliatory? An off-putting e-mail? What about a humiliating public censure?
This uncertainty left employers understandably [...]

by Jeff DeGraffenreid
Recently, I met a plaintiff’s lawyer during a particularly expansive mediation. He was on the opposing side, and after we were through, I had the chance to sit down with him over a beer and pick his brain. I’d gone in with the notion that he was “in it for [...]