Managing Political Discourse at Work With Lessons From Mad Men - Hiring to Firing Podcast
California Employment News: Expanded Workplace Protections Regarding Cannabis Use
#WorkforceWednesday: Employees’ Off-Duty Conduct, Violence at Work Rises, the Election and the Gig Economy - Employment Law This Week®
With Election Day quickly approaching, it is the right time for employers to refresh themselves on the various protections that may exist for their employees when it comes to voting and other political activities. Below is...more
In part two of the three-part Hiring to Firing series, host Tracey Diamond and new co-host Emily Schifter dive into the complexities of managing employees’ political beliefs and discourse in the workplace, just in time for...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarifies employers’ obligations to address hostile work environment complaints arising out of employees’ off-premises social media activity. In Okonowsky v. Garland, the Ninth Circuit...more
Once an employer knows or has reason to know about alleged harassment, it has an obligation to promptly remedy the hostile work environment, even if the offensive conduct occurred wholly offsite, online, or off-duty. This...more
Welcome to the fall issue of SuperVision, our labor and employment e-newsletter. In this edition, we cover the current status of the FTC’s attempts to ban noncompetes, OSHA’s proposed heat standard, how to handle political...more
California law provides robust protections for employees’ political activity, including anti-discrimination laws, off-duty conduct laws, employee voting leave laws, statewide election notice requirements, and laws allowing...more
You might think what happens outside the workplace stays outside the workplace, but as the Ninth Circuit recently ruled, you can be sued by one employee for what another employee posts online....more
Picture this: You're packing up your office, getting ready to head home for the evening, when your human resources manager peaks her head in. She explains that she has just fielded a complaint from a female employee: a male...more
The national and global hyperpolitical atmosphere inevitably touches the workplace, where employers and employees must remain productive while navigating the intersection of political expression, workplace culture and...more
As the workplace continues to take a new shape, the distinction between “workplace conduct” and “off duty” conduct continues to fade for many. After a recent Ninth Circuit ruling, employers must be more vigilant than ever in...more
Political speech in the workplace has become a growing concern for employers in recent years. The polarized political climate, combined with the increasing use of social media and digital communication, has amplified the...more
The United Kingdom continues to see rapid growth in the number of workplaces adopting remote and hybrid work arrangements, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this new type of work offers many...more
The line between ‘work’ and ‘home’ has historically been clear for most employees – separated by a distinct office building, worksite, or retail space. Technology has blurred this line in the past few decades and, for some...more
On August 21, 2024, the NLRB affirmed an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) decision and held in SFR, Inc. d/b/a Parkside Café, 373 N.L.R.B. No. 84, that employees who participated in Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) protests outside...more
Real World Impact: U.S. employers should be aware of the global trend of “right to disconnect” laws and should review their policies on after-hours communications to stay ahead of social and legal changes....more
Dear Littler: I manage a growing family medical practice out West. It has come to our attention that one of our staff members maintains an adult-themed website. We learned about this when another staff member complained about...more
Prior to the advent of social media, employers were generally comfortable drawing a bright line between what employees did on their own time and workplace misconduct. Those bygone times, however, have been replaced by a...more
The following may be a true story. The events depicted allegedly took place in Lompoc, California, in 2020. Out of deference to the judges involved, their names have not been used. Out of respect for the victim, her story...more
In November 2023, Ohio passed a recreational marijuana law. Sales of recreational marijuana began on August 6 in the Buckeye State, and employers can expect an uptick in employee use. Employers’ rights with respect to...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarifies employers’ obligations to address hostile work environment complaints arising out of employees' off-premises social media activity. In Okonowsky v. Garland (No. 23-55404; Jul. 25,...more
Cell phone communications, emails, and texts have been around for decades. According to JB Knowledge’s 2020 Construction Technology Report, 93 percent of construction industry workers use smartphones for work purposes....more
Over the past year, we have encountered a growing number of claims raised by applicants and employees who allege that positive drug test results for marijuana were actually the result of their use of legal hemp products...more
Taking a page from countries across the Atlantic, the California legislature is considering a bill that would give employees the “right to disconnect.” ...more
It seems every week another call center case pops up. These are extremely dangerous cases for employers and that is why I keep writing (or, harping) about them, as a warning to employers, not only those who operate call...more
With expanding legalization and commercialization—including several state initiatives in 2024 and perhaps even federal legislation—the chances are good that your California business has at least a few employees who consume...more