November, 2018

Your 11-month employee just requested FMLA leave. Can you fire her before leave begins in the 12th month?

November 13, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

By J.J. at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

You’re not seriously considering doing this, are you? Continue reading

Google ends forced arbitration of sexual harassment claims. Should you? Then what?

November 12, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Google Inc. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The last month for Google has been big for tech and employment law nerds alike. And I just happen to check both boxes.

A reporter sought an interview with a Senate candidate, but said a little bit more — TMI — after she thought she had hung up the phone.

November 9, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: FreeStockPhotos.biz (http://res.freestockphotos.biz/originals/14/14328-illustration-of-a-telephone-or.png)

Spoiler alert: She got fired.

What if the general release in your severance agreement isn’t as “general” as you think it is? What then?

November 8, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/checkbook-coupon-fill-check-688352/)

On Tuesday, I wrote about severance agreements. Specifically, I suggested that employers benefit from: (1) drafting easy-to-understand agreements; and (2) giving former employees a reasonable amount of time to read the agreement and decide whether to sign.

Generally, if you check those boxes, you’ve got yourself an enforceable agreement in which the former employee has released all claims.

Well, there may be at least one exception. Continue reading

It’s unanimous! Supreme Court rules that any public-sector employee 40 years or older may file an age-bias claim

November 7, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Joe Ravi [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Lest you think that eight Supreme Court Justices — Justice Kavanaugh did not participate — can never see eye-to-eye on how to resolve an employment law issue. Continue reading

Severance Agreements: Make them easy to understand and don’t pressure an employee to sign

November 6, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

When one of your former employees signs a severance agreement with a release of all claims, the last thing you want is for that employee to sign and then sue you. Continue reading

At least two employees didn’t read my ‘blackface’ post, and you’ll never believe what some Idaho teachers wore for Halloween

November 5, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit:: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/halloween-halloweenkuerbis-faces-2770084/)

I know that wearing blackface on Halloween is a bad idea. You know it too. And, now, so does Megyn Kelly.

But not everyone got the memo. Continue reading

It’s time to VOTE for the “Worst Employer of 2018.”

November 2, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

My friend Jon Hyman is an incredible employment law blogger over at Ohio Employer Law Blog.

Over the course of the year, he has flagged some of the worst discrimination and harassment allegations against employers. Now, the list is long enough that he needs your help to vote it down to a “Worst Employer of 2018.”

So, clutch your human resources pearls, click here to vote, and then say a little prayer that you work elsewhere.

Five great ideas on how your business can revamp workplace culture to prevent harassment

November 1, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/lightbulb-vector-light-icons-2824863/)

Yesterday, while you were sneaking Fun Size Peanut M&Ms out of the Halloween pumpkin before the trick-or-treaters showed up — maybe that was just me — the EEOC held a public meeting on Steps to Transform Workplace Culture to Prevent Harassment.

The consensus was that employers best accomplish this through a “holistic approach.”

Those are fancy words. But what precisely can you do to address harassment?

I’ve got five big takeaways from the meeting. Continue reading