In the name of organization, HR professionals and managers alike have been known to accidentally discard a document, whether paper or electronic, that they shouldn’t have. So in your quest to clean out overflowing file cabinets or email inboxes for the new year, take your time and follow these guidelines.
An employee’s refusal to perform an assigned task often frustrates or flusters a manager. The next time such a situation occurs, seize control by doing the following.
Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Dec. 11 said “tenure protections” for ALJs are unconstitutional. McFadden’s opinion could hamstring the NLRB’s ability to conduct its business of enforcing the National Labor Relations Act.
Discriminating against applicants and employees because they serve or have served in the military is illegal. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act protects service members from discrimination in the workplace and requires employers to reinstate employees who are called to or volunteer for active-duty assignments.
• Learn about the ADEA and its state counterparts, including some age-discrimination laws that protect all workers from age discrimination.
• Gain an understanding of the Older Workers’ Benefits Protection Act (OWBPA) and what it requires employers to do before conducting a reduction in force or reorganization.
• Draft and execute severance pay offers that include a release of liability for age discrimination.
• Understand your requirements to reasonably accommodate common age-related disabilities, including mobility impairments, acute medical problems like cancer and heart disease, and mental health and acuity issues like forms of dementia.
• Learn why you must allow and encourage older workers to enter training and mentorship programs even if you suspect a retirement announcement may be coming.
• Train managers and supervisors to recognize age-related harassment and discrimination, like using ageist language and stereotyping.
• Grow awareness of generational differences without resorting to stereotypes and making assumptions.
• Learn how to leverage generational differences to enhance performance.
• Explore leadership skills to help capitalize on generational differences.
• Work as a team to find common ground.
• Walk through various real-life examples to help you navigate legal challenges.
• Explore and tear down common preconceptions related to generational differences.
• Learn how to create programs that cater to the different generations.
Wearables in the workplace are mostly perceived as benign management tools, although some complain they represent a dystopian step toward Big Brother surveillance. Now the EEOC has weighed in with a fact sheet warning that wearables could enable or perpetuate workplace discrimination and suggesting how employers can mitigate liability.
It’s a new HR year and we’re here with some important lessons from the top four employment lawsuits of 2024. Don’t repeat these employer mistakes.
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.
