Learn from BLR Senior Legal Content Specialist, Joan S. Farrell, J.D., in this information-packed, 20-minute webinar that will cover compliance obligations for employers, the effect of new laws and agency rulings, and practical suggestions for preventing workplace harassment.
Discover how to enhance your organization’s recruiting and innovation with a powerful DEI program. Download our free eBook to learn 7 key strategies for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in your recruitment process. Plus, access a free 20-minute webinar with expert tips on taking your DEI initiatives to the next level.
Are employers required to provide American Sign Language (ASL) or English-language interpreters for candidates in job interviews? If so, who pays?
The push for CCPA compliance and responding to the flood of ADA accessibility litigation may cause more organizations to revisit their websites and, in the process, uncover a range of other issues that have crept in over the years.
Any person who has nursed an infant knows the time and energy that goes into breastfeeding. Working and nursing mothers need workplace accommodations to allow time, space, and grace to express milk during the workday. The federal government addresses that need in a new law. President Joe Biden recently signed the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). The law fills in the gaps left by the 2010 Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act. The 2010 law applied only to nonexempt employees, leaving exempt employees with no protections, until now.
Before creating a training program, it is important for you as the trainer to research your company’s situation thoroughly and gather information in a few key areas. This article outlines five objectives and how you can accomplish them when planning your program.
A common issue that arises in the workplace is whether a company may prevent departing employees from competing against it, soliciting its customers, or using the company’s information and data for their own purposes. In recent years, lawmakers and courts have continued to demonstrate hostility toward these types of noncompete agreements, also referred to as restrictive covenants or covenants not to compete. The ongoing trend includes state-specific limitations governing restrictive covenants, court actions, and new federal activity concerning noncompete agreements.
In this edition of HR Hotline Q&A, a subscriber asks if teasing or offhand comments are considered workplace harassment if they’re not severe or pervasive? Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). Generally, the more severe and offensive the conduct is, the less frequently it has to occur before it constitutes sexual harassment. In fact, courts have found that sexual harassment can occur with a single offensive act, if the conduct is sufficiently severe (e.g., acts that include physical contact). On the other hand, less offensive acts, if repeated frequently will also constitute sexual harassment.
By learning how to deal with stress effectively, we can improve our overall well-being and perform better in our personal and professional lives.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA) makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against pregnant employees and requires reasonable accommodations for an employee’s known limitations related to pregnancy or childbirth. Let’s look at how the PDA and the PWFA affect employers who have pregnant employees. We’ll be using West Virginia’s version as an example, though the others are similar.