Digital privacy – Christopher McKinney of HR Lawyer’s Blog gives us the background documents for the employee digital privacy case that is before the Supreme Court. The case centers on sexting by employees on digital devices supplied by the employer. It involves a police chief who read several SWAT team members’ text messages without their consent because he wanted to see if what he deemed as excessive use of their pagers resulted from personal or work-related activities. The ScotusBlog offers a recap of the oral arguments that were presented. The Supremes seemed a bit stymied by some of the technology issues. According to Rob Salkowitz: “It wasn’t pretty. This band of geriatric jurists may know its habeas from its corpus, but they are non compos mentis when it comes to the fundamentals of modern communication.” Hopefully, they will be quick studies – the case is expected to be decided this session. See also City of Ontario v. Quon at the SCOTUS Wiki.
Domestic violence – Kim Wells alerts us to a June PBS documentary Telling Amy’s Story that puts a spotlight on domestic violence. It tracks the events leading up to a domestic violence homicide in central Pennsylvania. Parents, co-workers, law enforcement officers, and court personnel share their perspectives on what happened to Amy in the weeks, months, and years leading up to her death. Learn more and see a trailer here. Wells notes that Amy was a Verizon Wireless employee, and Verizon Wireless is a sponsor of this documentary. (See Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence)
Department of Labor – HR Lori has the lowdown on the new DOL guidelines on unpaid internships. And in another DOL initiative, employers can expect a heightened focus on employee misclassification, with a push on both the federal and state levels. Risk & Insurance reports that the Obama administration recently earmarked an additional $25 million in the DOL’s proposed FY 2011 budget for a misclassification initiative. The plan calls for hiring 100 additional enforcement personnel to address the problem and to provide grants to aid states in addressing the problem. Prior studies have indicated that more than 3 million employees may be misclassified. A 9-state study by the DOL found as many as 30% of audited employers misclassified at least some employees.
Gender & leadership – Katie Kuehner-Hebert of Human Resource Executive reports on a new study on gender and leadership. OnPoint Consulting released the results of a two-year study of the “influence skills” of 223 leaders in organizations across the country, to examine the extent to which there are gender differences. Jennifer Forgie, a managing partner at OnPoint: “The conventional thinking was that female leaders tend to have more of a focus on relationships and have a more participatory style, whereas men tend to focus more on results, and the tasks at hand,” Forgie says. “Some of our findings were consistent with conventional thinking about male and female leaders, and some were somewhat surprising.”
10 ways to trigger a lawsuit – At HR Daily Advisor, Attorney Barbara Meister Cummins offers her picks for the 10 most lawsuit-attracting lines she hears from managers, part 1 and part 2.
New HR ‘zine – Check out IFRACTAL Buzz Worthy – brought to you by the same organization that brings you the KnowHR Blog.
The Men of HR – The men of HR are semi-baring it all in a keepsake calendar to raise money for Haiti Relief and the Orchid Cancer Appeal (fighting male testicular cancer). Check out the promo video or order a calendar.
Short Takes
- Workplace violence prevention tips
- Workplace Bullying Gaining More Attention
- Equal Pay Day Marks Another Year of Unequal Pay for Women
- The Diabetes Prevention Program Is Cost-Effective
- Legal Alert: Breaking down the health care tax credit for small biz
- Trends in Annual Incentives: The Age of One Plan Fits All and the Ascent of Cash Flow
- The Psychological Concerns of the Soldier Amputee (PDF)
- The Myth of Perfect Productivity
- Medical Marijuana: Accommodation Required? Which Way Do You Think Oregon Went?
- The Exiting Employee