News

When performance-improvement plans work, everyone wins. But when PIPs are used to justify terminations, they sometimes cause more problems than they solve. Poorly applied, they create legal liability.

The incoming Trump administration is expected to enact policy changes that could affect employer-sponsored benefits, according to the nonpartisan, nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. Beyond the benefits realm, new administration policies could restrict employers’ access to foreign-born workers and limit the reach of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

How can intermittent leave work in a school setting?

At the very least, avoid using the term in front of applicants or in any written materials describing them, such as interview notes. Rejected applicants could view the term as an age-related code word, thus sparking an age-discrimination lawsuit.

Ignoring an employee’s complaints that she was subject to ongoing sexual harassment just cost an employer more than $2 million. The EEOC sued on the employee’s behalf and won the largest damages award it has ever obtained in the Northern District of Texas, among the most conservative federal courts in the nation.

The confidentiality of women’s reproductive health-care choices has taken on new urgency for some since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reversed Roe v. Wade. HIPAA beefed up its privacy rule as it relates to women’s reproductive health-care choices, and this rule becomes effective Monday, Dec. 23.

Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for employees to claim discrimination even if their employer’s actions didn’t substantially harm them. Now, the same reasoning from the Muldrow v. St. Louis decision is being applied to the ADA.

Lauren McFerran’s term expired Dec. 16, leaving President-elect Donald Trump free to install a Republican majority and potentially turn the NLRB into a business-friendly administrative agency.

Insider threats—security risks originating within your own workforce—are on the rise and could seriously harm your organization’s finances, reputation and operations. HR professionals hold the key to tackling cybersecurity challenges head-on. Here’s how.

As we prepare for the new Trump administration to take office, we are taking a look at what changes to expect for each executive agency that will affect employment law. These include the EEOC, the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. First up is the EEOC.