February, 2015

Paid sick leave becomes the law in Philadelphia

February 13, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in December, I warned you (here) that, after two failed attempts to enact paid sick leave in Philadelphia, the third time may be the charm in 2015.

I was right.

(Want to rub my head for good luck? Or hire me as your employment lawyer? Yeah, let’s go with the second one.)

Yesterday, Mayor Nutter signed into law a paid sick leave bill that passed City Council by a vote of 14-2. The new law, which will apply to businesses with at least 10 employees, will allow employees to accrue an hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours of work. It goes into effect in 90 days.

Fired from her job, a “sleepy” “armed security guard” may have an ADA claim

February 12, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, I read about a woman who alleged that her former employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it fired her from her “armed security guard” position because of a medical condition. This notwithstanding that, in her complaint, the plaintiff admitted to being presented with pictures taken of her which appeared to show her sleeping on the job. In response, the plaintiff told the company that she was taking medication that made her “sleepy.”

Does this sound familiar?

Well, it should, because we’ve covered this before. An employee who, because is a disability, may have a tendency to fall asleep at work, could still be qualified to perform the essential functions of the job.

Teen tweets complaint about new job, gets fired on Twitter before starting said job.

February 11, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

I am a true Twitter OG. Why, I remember back in the day — it was 2009 — when Connor Riley, a/k/a ‘Cisco Fatty’ a/k/a @theconnor tweeted: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

Unfortunately for Ms. Riley, one of Cisco’s channel partner advocates read the tweet and tweeted back, “Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

Well, it seems we found ourselves a modern day Cisco Fatty…

Must you pay an employee for mandatory alcohol treatment?

February 10, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

More specifically, as posed in this recent federal court decision, “when an employer requires an employee to attend alcohol counseling and treatment sessions as a condition of keeping her job, must the employer compensate the employee for the time she spends in counseling and treatment?”

The three plaintiffs, NYPD police offers, identified three aspect of counseling that they claim they were required to undertake: (1) inpatient counseling at a residential treatment facility (with respect to one plaintiff); (2) outpatient counseling during regularly-scheduled work hours; and (3) outpatient counseling after regularly scheduled work hours. All three were paid their regular wage while in counseling. However, none of these employees received overtime.

More after the jump…

Don’t tolerate a supervisor’s racial slurs. Not even a few. Just don’t.

February 9, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Even a few stray remarks can land your business in hot water…as one employer recently learned.

More after the jump…

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20 job interview pro tips revealed!

February 5, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Or not.

So, enjoy these “tips,” but, try them at your own risk.

(H/T Suzanne “Evil HR Lady” Lucas)

How a few missing employee handbook words may open your FMLA floodgates

February 4, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

You wouldn’t want to make the same egregious mistake as a Michigan employer. After the jump, I’ll discuss the colossal screw-up and help you avoid it.

Don’t worry. I’ll wait and listen to some Foo Fighters while you go grab your FMLA policy.

[Two bad words near the end of the Foo Fighters song. So, if you’re going to play it at work. Well, don’t play it at work].

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FMLA hits home

February 2, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

A gentle reminder that eligible employees can take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent — but not a parent “in-law”) with a serious health condition, like a bad respiratory illness that requires hospitalization.

Please send some good vibes to my little guy, Pierce.