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Showing posts from 2015

Taking a Break from Blogging

One day I looked up and I had only posted twice since April of 2014.  The reason is simple: it no longer feels safe.  The number of Trolls looking to make a huge deal of social media missteps has grown exponentially since I first began blogging.  The number of companies with policies against social media missteps has grown, and those policies carry real consequences.  Finally, I used this blog for communications with the Thomas Nelson workforce of which I am no longer a leader or member.  The combination of these factors makes blogging all risk and no benefit. The dilemma for me personally is that my old content, my "backlist" as we would say in publishing, still gets several hundred to a couple of thousand hits per month.  One day last month I had 700+ hits on an old article in one day.  There seems to be "an" audience, but not one I have been able to successfully define.  But again, unless I were to try and monetize that audience and make a living blogging, the

DOL Issues Final Rule on FMLA and Same Sex/Common Law Couples

Since July of 2014 the Department of Labor has been soliciting public comments on proposed rule changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regarding same-sex and common-law marriages.  It recently announced that the Final Rules have been written and will become effective March 27th, 2015. Those rules replace interim guidance that had been in place for some time since the Supreme Court's striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). First you might ask why this was necessary.  Some will of course say that this is part of the federal government's push under a liberal administration to redefine marriage.  That is hardly the rationale.  Currently 37 states and 18 foreign countries recognize same-sex marriages, but the FMLA is a federal law that applies in all US states and governed territories.  The potential for confusion was significant. More and more young couples are cohabitating and raising families outside of a traditional marriage. The FMLA, were it not to con