We drug test new hires at my company. When a potential employee’s test comes back positive it’s easy enough to rescind the offer, but we had a candidate have a test returned “negative but diluted” and we rescinded the offer. The candidate had already given two weeks’ notice at his current company and they won’t take him back. Did we do the right thing?

I have an employee who hasn’t been performing well. Last week, she was out sick again and I needed a report. I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. So, I asked IT if I could get the report from her email, and they gave me access to her inbox. I found the report, but curiosity overcame me, and I opened a few other emails. I feel totally guilty — I snooped. Is this legal? Is it moral? What do I do with this information?

Did you make any progress during October’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month? Did you, as I like to say, lock your business’s cookie jar?

By now, most employers know there are certain questions they can ask, and certain questions they must avoid when interviewing a candidate for a job. They know that anti-discrimination laws apply before a worker is even hired, and have heard stories about costly lawsuits resulting from an employer asking the wrong question of a prospective employee during a job interview.

Do Capitol employees have enough protection to believe that they can report sexual harassment or assault and maintain their careers?​

When an at-will termination is at issue, there are certain steps to take and considerations an employer should evaluate to minimize the risk of later becoming the target of a wrongful termination lawsuit.

We have a female employee who reported sexual harassment from a male coworker. The woman didn’t want to come forward, but once the CEO found out, he felt he had an obligation to handle the claim. We currently are without an HR manager. What is the proper way to handle this? Should an investigation be made? 

Watch any news channel, listen to any talk radio station or read virtually any online news or social media feed, and chances are, you’ll learn about a new lawsuit being filed against a company based on allegations of harassment, discrimination or retaliatory conduct in the workplace.

From texts to photos to emails, every modern law case involves some sort of e-discovery — so why are lawyers still failing to do it?

What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, the regional homebuilding industry — like many other industries — faced an uncertain future. The Great Recession dealt a harsh financial blow to our industry that made the prospect of recovery feel like a far-off possibility. Fortunately, after several lean years our industry has started to climb out of the economic doldrums of a few years ago.

Studies have shown that the only thing worse than bad customer service is inconsistent service, which leaves a consumer confused and wary about what to expect when they walk into a store, call the help desk or send an email. With more choices available than ever before, we all want consistency and to know what to expect in a given situation.

If you’re texting and driving, Sarah Morell might be recording you. She’s usually riding shotgun, as her husband drives, with her camera phone, ready to catch traffic safety violators on video. Her 6-year-old daughter’s in on the action too.

We service clients who are kids in the foster care system. We really value when our employees that resign give at least a three-weeks’ notice, so they can transition their clients — kids who have already had upheaval in their lives — to their team members before they leave. Is there any meat that we can put on the bones of a policy requiring a three-week notice, with some type of consequence for not providing this notice?

Here are 10 qualified tax deductions to consider as you power through tax season … and to ensure you get ultimate tax ROI as the hard-working, self-employed freelancer that you are.

We are reorganizing and will be eliminating one position. We will have to lay this person off, and I have a few questions about how to handle it: Who needs to be in the room when we tell her? How much severance should we offer? What else do I need to do?

Elections matter. The people have spoken. And marijuana — more appropriately known by the less pejorative label, cannabis — is now legal for adults in eight states, including California, and for those with medical needs in 28 states. That means the majority of Americans now live in states where cannabis is legal in some form.

Under new federal OSHA rules, which will go into effect for construction companies across the nation on June 26, employers must prevent all respirable silica dust above a certain level, known as the Permissible Exposure Limit. 

There’s an ethical reason to follow safety measures on construction sites, but there’s also financial reasons. The first is obvious: It’s simply the right thing to do to take care of your employees and ensure their workplace safety. The second is that insurance rates can skyrocket for companies that have numerous on-site injuries and incidents. It’s worth the time and investment in safety training, in order to save tens of thousands of dollars, he says.

More than 2 million workers nationwide (1-5 percent of the American workforce) are exposed to silica dust on the job every year, according to OSHA, including those that work in construction, glass manufacturing, landscaping, maritime work, foundries and dental laboratories, to name a few of many.