Law

According to the Hildebrandt Institute, which tracks legal business trends, U.S. law firm mergers spiked dramatically in 2011, increasing 67% over the previous year and reflecting a trend that the organization expects to continue into 2012. Full Story 

State law prohibits job discrimination against people with conviction records, unless the crime is "substantially related" to the job or the work environment. This standard, established under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, would be removed under a proposed state law, but ideally, how should a business approach the matter of employing people with conviction records? What rights do employers have if they find that an employee misled them about his or her conviction record? IB asked employment law attorneys to weigh in as to best HR practices. Full Story 

The office Christmas party has lost a lot of its pizzazz, so much so that it's no longer known by that term. Some of its evolution is budgetary, but a combination of factors related to legal liability, employment law, and religious sensitivity, most of which can be boiled down to misdeeds of sloppy imbibers, have led to an era where employers are ultra cautious with their holiday events. Full Story 

The culture wars continue to play out on television and in legislative halls across the country, but in business, hardheaded practicality often takes precedence over anyone's ideals. Indeed, from an employee recruitment and retention standpoint, many employers feel that they can no longer afford to live in an Ozzie and Harriet world. Full Story