The right to bore, and not to be bored.
These two cases are not from the U.S.A. But they have some good lessons for U.S. employers.
Case One: "C'est cool d'être ringard." (English translation: "It's hip to be square.") A...more
Remember faxes?
I don't. A 70-year-old home health care nurse (RN) has sued her employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act....more
Employers, don't be too rigid about employee notice requirements.
Weird case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Imagine this: You're the HR manager at a manufacturing facility. An hourly employee has...more
And the Commission will lose its GOP majority.
Janet Dhillon, who was chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during most of the Trump Administration, will be leaving the Commission after this week....more
Here's a handy summary of the federal employment laws that apply to vets.
In honor of Veterans Day, I'm republishing, with a few edits, a post I wrote in 2020 that summarizes the federal employment laws that apply to...more
Comments being accepted thru Dec. 5.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a draft Strategic Plan for 2022-26, and is inviting public comments through Monday, December 5....more
Minimum wage, unions, right to work, and legal weed.
Apart from the "red tsunami" that turned into a "red trickle" (if that), there were measures on many state ballots that will affect employers. Here are the highlights:...more
Fictional, but based on a true story.
It was a dark and stormy night.
There I was, the second shift HR supervisor, trying to renew my annual subscription to SHRM during some down time. It was about 9:30 p.m.
"Your credit...more
Not if I have anything to say about it.
Is it bad to apologize at work?
Rachel Feintzeig of the Wall Street Journal had a column this week saying we -- especially women, but all of us -- need to quit saying we're "sorry"...more
Two recent court decisions shed some light.
Two decisions in reverse discrimination cases came down this week from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In one case, a three-judge panel found in favor of the...more
Be the first employer on the block to have one!
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a new poster, intended to replace the old (as of yesterday) "Equal Employment Opportunity Is the Law" poster....more
The lawsuit that transformed Title VII is over.
Remember Gerald Bostock?
He filed suit against Clayton County, Georgia, alleging that he was fired because of his sexual orientation....more
Employers, know your limits.
As most of our readers know, for inappropriate behavior to be "sexual harassment,” it has to be "unwelcome" to the recipient....more
You DO want to be "with it," don't you?
The Daily Mail came out this week with a list of workplace emoji that Generation Z says are either offensive or totally uncool. And apparently Boomers aren't the only offenders....more
If so, what will that mean for employers?
Yesterday, President Biden announced that he was pardoning everyone who was criminally convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law. He's also asked state governors...more
10/7/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Pardons ,
Joe Biden ,
Marijuana ,
Presidential Pardons ,
Reasonable Accommodation
And opens up a can of worms.
In June 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or, to be more precise, EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows, a Democrat*) issued non-binding guidance about LGBT workers. ...more
Sheesh. I would think so! Here's a story for you:
Some investors bought an apartment complex in Houston with the plan to fix it up and flip it. They decided the Property Manager wasn't doing a good job, so they fired her...more
This would be a great law school problem. But you non-geeks, feel free to join in, too! The following is a true story. A man went to pizza restaurant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and ordered a stromboli worth a little more...more
So misunderstood!
NOTE FROM ROBIN: Earlier this year, I began a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. The first installment covered discrimination in general, and the second...more
9/16/2022
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
At-Will Employment ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
Before the festivities begin, test your knowledge!
How much do you know about Labor Day? Take our quiz and find out! As always, the answers appear at the end of each question, so you can cheat all you want, and we'll never...more
Probably. Employers, get ready.
Will EEOC lawyers do an end run around the EEOC commissioners? If so, employers are likely to see more lawsuits with the EEOC as a plaintiff, which is never a good thing....more
I'm not sure I agree. With all due respect.
An issue that has been percolating for the past few years is whether gender dysphoria is a "disability" within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I've posted on...more
Non-union employers, this goes for you, too!
An employee's use of bad language doesn't necessarily mean that the employer can take action against him. Even if the language arguably violates the employer's no-harassment...more
8/12/2022
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Discipline ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Offensive Language ,
Over-Time ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Voluntary Participation ,
Wrongful Termination
Everybody's favorite subject.
Last week, Karla Miller -- the workplace advice columnist of The Washington Post -- had a fascinating letter with this problem:
The letter writer is the only female working on a floor with...more
Late summer odds and ends.
Catholic school guidance counselor supervisor is a "minister," court says. And therefore she can't sue the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for refusing to renew her contract after she entered into...more