Archive for October, 2008

Health Care Dilemmas for Employers

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

Several items about employer-provided group health care benefits have crossed my desk lately. In light of the presidential election next week, all of these items could be addressed soon under a new administration. But it is important to understand the scope of the problem that group health insurance has become for employers.
The rising cost of [...]

Are You a Good Boss?

Friday, October 24th, 2008

American employees are unimpressed with their bosses. Earlier this month, Randstad USA, a staffing company, released a survey of 2337 people in which half of the employees reported that they do not respect their bosses. Only half believe their bosses are competent. Less than 30 percent see their bosses as coaches, motivators or mentors.
All of [...]

Update Your Job Descriptions

Monday, October 20th, 2008

When the new Americans with Disability Act (”ADA”) amendments go into effect on January 1, 2009, millions more disabled Americans (or those perceived as disabled) are expected to be protected by the law than have been helped since the 1991 law was enacted. Click here for more information about these amendments. This of course means [...]

Employer Faces Child Labor Criminal Charges

Monday, October 13th, 2008

Note: This Employer’s Advocate column was originally published in the Amarillo Globe-News on Sunday, October 12, 2008.
This newspaper reported last month that the owner and the managers of the nation’s largest kosher meat-packing plant (Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa) were criminally charged with more than 9000 individual counts apiece for employing children younger than 16 to [...]

What Every Supervisor Must Know

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Most employee lawsuits are caused by the actions of a first-line supervisor. In other words, that woman that you just promoted from cashier to assistant manager is the one most likely to get your company sued by a disgruntled employee or former employee. Why? Because the first-line supervisor has the most day-to-day contact with your [...]

Risks of Going to Trial

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

You’ve heard it before. Ninety-five percent of lawsuits settle before they are tried. Knowing this, doesn’t it make sense to study settlement and trial outcomes to see if settlement is usually a good idea? Some new research did just that and found that plaintiffs in lawsuits, such as the employee in a discrimination claim, who [...]

Test Your Employment Law Knowledge

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

Just for fun today (if you are like me and have no life!), test your knowledge of federal and Texas employment law. If you manage people in the workplace in Texas, this is the kind of information you should know off the top of your head. Give yourself about 10 minutes to answer these questions, then [...]