The HR Specialist

As more employers insist that employees who can telework shouldn’t, return to office (RTO) mandates are growing more popular with management. Reasons include believing that being in the same location encourages collaboration, camaraderie and brainstorming. Then there’s direct interaction between supervisors and subordinates daily that may foster greater growth, professional development and mentorship – all...

While we may wish that every workplace is respectful and free from angry outbursts, the reality is that people sometimes don’t get along. But that doesn’t mean employers can’t respond appropriately to employees who go too far and disrupt work. Even an over-response isn’t typically going to result in a successful disproportionate response lawsuit, as...

Question: “We have a new employee in our accounting department. When we hired her, she did not reveal that she has a disability. But she often comes in late. When we sat down with her, she explained she has narcolepsy, which interferes with her sleep. She wants an accommodation. This is causing resentment from other...

In September, Andrea Lucas, Chair of the EEOC, took to social media to ask American workers who suspected their national origin was used against them by prospective and current employers to report discrimination to the EEOC. Lucas promised the agency is working hard to take their claims seriously and go after employers that favor applicants...

Back in February, the DOL published proposed revisions to the agency’s rules on who can be classified as an independent contractor and thus not be eligible for protection under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). On September 28, the changes were forwarded to the Office of Information...

Question: “We are looking at the prospect of some layoffs this fall. I understand that we can’t use FMLA leave taken or coming up as a reason to pick someone for the layoff list. But I’m also not confident that the performance reviews we do want to use to rank workers by productivity may not...