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Courts recognize that employers must be free to manage their workforces as they see fit—with some limitations. But that live-and-let-live ethos changed when the Supreme Court issued its Muldrow v. St. Louis decision in April 2024.

In the 48 hours after President Trump took office on Jan. 20, he issued a torrent of executive orders and actions, many of them bearing directly on issues that matter to HR professionals and employers.

I understand that the FMLA allows salaries to be reduced for exempt employees who are on intermittent FMLA. However, my question is this: Would I change them to an “hourly basis” during the approved intermittent FMLA event? And if so, would they be eligible for overtime? Or would I just continue to track the FMLA hours and reduce their pay based on the hours they used?

The coming Immigration and Enforcement crackdown on immigrants lacking legal status won’t affect you or your employees if you know—because of their I-9 documentation—that they are legally allowed to work in the U.S. However, you may not be so confident if you use subcontractors or temporary workers.

If you’re faced with a staff member who isn’t a good fit, is termination the answer, or would it be better to demote the employee? The answer is, of course, it depends. Always weigh demotions case by case.

With February comes Valentine’s Day, as good an excuse as any to review your policies so employees understand there are limits on how, where and when they can embrace the spirit of romance at work.

Employers with military-connected employees understand they must grant military leave when members of the National Guard or reserves are called up for training or active-duty service. But that’s just the beginning.

In 2022, New Jersey voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that decriminalized the use and possession of marijuana. Recently, Walmart argued that employers can refuse to hire someone who tests positive for marijuana.

For centuries, a signature at the bottom of a piece of paper has meant someone agrees with what the document says. But now many of our documents are made of electrons instead of wood pulp. Can keystrokes carry the same legal weight as strokes of the pen? Yes.

A new federal appeals court decision says employees can, indeed, take FMLA leave to care for siblings who have serious health conditions.