Four Ways to Make Terminations Less Stressful

In the 2009 movie Up in the Air, George Clooney and Anna Kendrick play corporate downsizers—HR consultants that companies across the country hire to terminate employees for them. The practice wasn’t exactly common at the time, and fortunately never took off, but it...

What is FMLA?

Answer from Kara, JD, SPHR: FMLA is short for the Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal law that provides employees with unpaid, job protected leave and benefits continuation in certain circumstances. People also commonly call leave under this law FMLA, as in...

Can we tell employees not to talk about their pay with each other?

Answer from Rachel, SHRM-SCP: Generally not. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) grants all non-supervisory employees (not just those in unions) the right to organize and engage in “concerted activity” for the purpose of mutual aid or protection....

Is there anything special we should know before terminating a remote employee?

Answer from Kim, SPHR, SHRM-SCP: Terminations involving remote employees function much the same as those in a physical worksite, but there are some things to keep in mind: If the employee works in a different state, you’ll need to follow that state’s laws regarding...

What is age discrimination?

Answer from Kyle, PHR: Age discrimination (sometimes called ageism) means treating people less favorably because of their age. In the workplace, this commonly happens when an employer favors a younger worker over an older one. In some cases, age discrimination is...

An employee in a job that regularly requires lifting 50 pounds now says they can only regularly lift 25 because of an off-the-job injury. Can we terminate?

Answer from Kate, SHRM-CP: Possibly, but proceed with caution. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers that have 15 or more employees to provide accommodations to employees to enable them to perform the essential functions of their job unless...