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The Employer Handbook BlogIf your company receives a subpoena from the EEOC, whatever you do, don’t do this…
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Do we have a nominee for “worst employer of 2018”? Let’s see…
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For the last year and change, Jon Hyman, who blogs at the excellent Ohio Employer Law Blog, has run a series of posts identifying employers accused of egregious workplace violations.
Stuff so bad that it would have your employment practices liability insurance carrier hyperventilating into a 50-gallon trash bag. Continue reading
Four EEOC-approved ways that your company can prevent age discrimination at work
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Ayo, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just released a report on “The State of Age Discrimination and Older Workers in the U.S. 50 Years After the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).” Continue reading
Although firing a proselytizing employee may be perfectly legal, making fun of him is a really bad idea.
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Just ask a midwest employer that had its motion for summary judgment denied and now may have to defend a hostile work environment claim before a federal jury. Continue reading
Before you deny an employee’s request for more extended leave after FMLA expires, read this.
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You know that expression about putting your money where your mouth is?
While unsanitary, I’m going to use it to make a point today about demonstrating undue hardship under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Continue reading
If I hire you to shovel snow in hell, when hell eventually freezes over, you’d better shovel!
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Remember that as I share with you a recent Tenth Circuit opinion dealing with essential job functions under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Continue reading
Court concludes that two co-workers’ alleged plot to murder an employee-plaintiff was not retaliation
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A probation officer in Chicago sued her employer for discrimination and retaliation. At trial, she won her retaliation claim.
While the case was on appeal, the plaintiff claimed that her boss threatened to hit her in the parking lot and, in a separate incident, coordinated with another co-worker threatened to get the plaintiff alone to cause her bodily harm.
The plaintiff alleged that this “murder plot and attempt” was evidence of more retaliation. Is she correct? Continue reading
You may be able to litigate older trade secret misappropriation claims in federal court. Here’s how.
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Until a few years ago, if an employer wanted to pursue a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets, it probably had to do so in state court under state law. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 changed all that. The DTSA is a federal law that created a private federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. So, now, if an employee takes your precious trade secrets, you can sue under federal law in federal court. And, in certain circumstances, you can collect your attorney’s fees if you prevail. The DTSA has real teeth!
But, what if you learn that an employee misappropriated your trade secrets before the DTSA took effect on May 11, 2016. Are you stuck in state court? Continue reading
Racist posts on Facebook are apparently a really bad look for an HR professional. #shrm18
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I use the term “professional” loosely.
That is to say, not at all. Continue reading
Hey HR! Here are 9 ways that you may want to update your employee handbook #SHRM18 #TheEmployerHandbook
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If you’re new to the field, you’ll have to take our word on it. But, HR-compliance professionals know that drafting an employee handbook that is 100% compliant got a lot tougher over the past several years.
Let’s forget about paid-sick-leave laws, ban-the-box, and other state/local law matters. I’m just talking about how strict the National Labor Relations Board had become in interpreting employee handbook policies for union and non-union employers. (Remember that the National Labor Relations Act is not limited to unionized employers.)
Fortunately, relief is on the way. And I have nine ways in which you can now update your handbook with the blessing of the Board’s General Counsel. Continue reading