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Subscribe by EmailHR/Employment Blogosphere update for August 15, 2005
Last week was a slow week here on the Blawg, with George and Michael working hard making money. This week, George is kicking back for a few days of vacation , which will include some canoeing and innertubing on a clear Ozark river.
So George will be cut off from the Internet (gasp!) and not posting until at least Thursday. Before leaving town and going Internet Cold Turkey (withdrawal symtoms have been scientifically proven), he’s leaving this quick update.
- Discrimination Litigation (big verdict yanked by judge; ADA plaintiff proves substantial limitation in walking)
- Unions/Labor Law (new blog starts with series on labor’s plight)
- Human Resources (performance appraisal links; guns in workplace, managing knowledge workers, and work changes coming thanks to wi-fi)
- Safety/Work Comp (comic strip on fatality case — laughing to keep from crying; comp insurance scandals)
- Benefits (acronym mania)
Jottings by an Employers Lawyer writes: “Seinfeld Moment - Not Enough to Salvage $3 Million Jury Verdict.”
Yes, it is possible for a sympathetic plaintiff without a case to get to trial and win big — only to have the court yank it all away. (Nice to see that even the prolific Michael Fox of Jottings sometimes has weeks when his Blogger guy loses out to his lawyer guy — the one who has to work for a living! Blogger George and Lawyer George offer their sympathies!)
Ross’ Employment Law Blog summarizes an ADA case: “Substantial limitation on walking”
Sure, lots of ADA plaintiffs have lost because they failed to meet the standard for “disability,” but many of those have been cases in which the plaintiffs’ attorneys failed to appreciate the importance of this issue and did not adequately develop the proof. Here’s someone who truly has a substantial limitation, and the lawyer apparently did the homework and convinced the court.
Ross also advertises his Employment Law Memo email service. It’s very good and he’s giving a free four-week trial. Check it out.
I just discovered and added another labor blog to the blogroll: Charles A. Krugel, Labor & Employment Law, HR Law. Chuck is a management labor lawyer who has also previously worked the union side, representing airline pilots. In July, he wrote a great series of posts on the state of the union movement. Some nuggets:
Does any of this [The AFL-CIO split] really matter? Will it affect business and the labor movement in any meaningful matter? I don’t think so and here’s why. . .It’s evident from the number of reports recently published that there is tremendous concern [that] the American labor movement, at least in the private sector, is dying, and that globally, there is uncertainty how to expand the movement. I believe that it’s too late. . .
Globalization just isn’t conducive to union organizing in the private sector. . .
The human capital movement and knowledge management movements, which are offshoots of modern human resources theories, are additional reasons why the labor movement is failing. Overall, good employers are increasing in numbers and productivity while maintaining increasingly effective employee relations and government support.
Thoughts from a Management Lawyer collects a whole mess of links here: “The Performance Appraisal Debate Continues”
CathColl.net writes: “what about private property rights?” She’s quoting and responding to a Christian Science Monitor piece about employers prohibiting guns in vehicles on their property. Catherine comments in legal terms about conflict between gun rights and property rights.
I would add a practical edge: if it’s legal in your state to prohibit guns in vehicles on company property, DO IT! You DO NOT need a pissed employee or recently fired employee going out there and coming right back in to get even!
The Future of Work Weblog asks: “Can Knowledge Workers Be “Managed?” The Future . . . also asks whether in view of knowledge worker mobility “the desk has gone the way of other office dinosaurs, like typewriters and Rolodexes”: “Another Chapter in the WiFi Story”
Sure, it’s cutting edge stuff not suitable for every worker at every company, but it IS the future, it’s important, and it’s coming soon. . . .
Regina Miller at HR’s Brand New Experience is becoming “passionate about hiring passionate people.”
Confined Space discovered a comic strip generator (I’ll have to try it later) and created a sad comic-format commentary on cutting safety corners in blatant violation of OSHA standards in order to save bucks. The strip appears inspired by this true fatality story on which Confined Space commented earlier.
Workers Comp Insider, summing up a number of posts from Managed Care Matters, posts “Insurance industry scandal watch,” commenting on the serious fraud coming not from employees but from (hopefully relatively few) crooks in the insurance industry.
Benefitsblog has collected a delightful list of acronyms in: “Benefits Vernacular.” Read it and laugh with — or at — the benefits specialists. (And she’s collecting more: “More Benefits Vernacular Coming Soon . . .”)
And now, let’s go tubing . . .
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Comments
Hi George,
I’m new to posting comments,so I apologize if this appears twice.
Thanks much for quoting me & my blog on your site. Due to the recent “raiding” activities by the Change to Win Coalition (SEIU, Teamsters, et al.), I plan to due a followup analysis concerning what may be further defections and infighting among current & former AFL-CIO affiliates. It’s understandable that these unions want new members. However, they’re only going after currently organized employees. They’re not increasing the percentage of unionized employees in the private sector. It’s some sort of “cannibalism” phase.
Anyway, have a great vacation. I can’t believe that you won’t have Internet access. I don’t think that “withdrawal” even hits the “tip of the iceberg.” I’d go “postal” without the Internet (now I’ve pissed off another union–re “postal”).
Best regards,
Chuck Krugel
Hi George,
Thanks much for quoting me & my blog on your site. Due to the recent “raiding” activities by the Change to Win Coalition (SEIU, Teamsters, et al.), I plan to due a followup analysis concerning what may be further defections and infighting among current & former AFL-CIO affiliates. It’s understandable that these unions want new members. However, they’re only going after currently organized employees. They’re not increasing the percentage of unionized employees in the private sector. It’s some sort of “cannibalism” phase.
Anyway, have a great vacation. I can’t believe that you won’t have Internet access. I don’t think that “withdrawal” even hits the “tip of the iceberg.” I’d go “postal” without the Internet (now I’ve pissed off another union–re “postal”).