January, 2020

I’m going to teach you — for free — a $100,000 lesson on workplace accommodations

January 31, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

US-$100000-GC-1934-Fr-2413 (cropped).jpg

By National Museum of American History – Image by Godot13, Public Domain, Link

Workplace accommodations can be easy.

For example, when an employee with carpal tunnel syndrome requests an ergonomic keyboard to perform his job, and his job involves a lot of typing, you get him the keyboard.

Or maybe you have an employee with Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is a type of depression that is exacerbated by gray overcast skies and poor indoor lighting. Several inexpensive lighting products can enable that employee to perform the essential functions of the job.

But, where employers often run into problems is with leave as an accommodation. Job transfers too.

How do you prove discrimination (when you’re accused of inappropriate relations with a student)?

January 30, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

https://www.needpix.com/photo/180045/question-worry-wonder-unsure-confused-uncertain-asking-wondering-uncertainty

Beats me.

(Still, it seems like an excellent excuse to get back to basics and explain how courts analyze discrimination claims). Continue reading

The hits keep coming in NJ. This time we have new laws targeting independent contractor misclassification.

January 29, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

In what I hope does not become a weekly feature here at The Employer Handbook, it’s time to update the readers on some new laws that NJ Governor Phil Murphy signed last week. Continue reading

Pat yourselves on the back, employers. EEOC Charges dipped to a new 27-year low!!!📉

January 28, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

By U.S. Government – Extracted from PDF file here., Public Domain, Link

I’m sorry if you were expecting wild stories of employee shenanigans today. Yesterday, I asked for your stories, and I got nothin’! Y’all must work in the most compliant workplaces in America.

Speaking of which… Continue reading

Man claims bank discriminated against him for, get this, refusing to deposit a race discrimination settlement check

January 27, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Let’s cue the music.
Continue reading

Remember when Barstool Sports mocked unionization on Twitter? How do you think that ended?

January 24, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

By Viktorvoigt, derivative work: Dove – Blue_flag_waving.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

I’m guessing that the white flag may have been a bit of a spoiler. Continue reading

Guess which state just became the first to require severance following a mass layoff?

January 23, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

At this point, that’s kinda like asking which day of the week ends in a “y”?

Yep, New Jersey has gone and done it again. Continue reading

Lawsuit: Does the ADA require an adult film website to accommodate a deaf individual by closed captioning the videos?

January 22, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by diapicard from Pixabay

In 2020, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 30. President George H.W. Bush signed it into law in 1990 to ensure civil rights for individuals with disabilities. Chia-Yi Hou at The Hill published a nice 30-year ADA recap here.

The “harassing, stalking, disturbing, and menacing” plaintiff lost her discrimination case. Go figure.

January 21, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

It’s bad enough when a federal judge refers to a plaintiff-employee’s behavior towards her manager as “harassing, stalking, disturbing, and menacing.” And, I apologize that I didn’t have enough room in the title of this blog post to mention the plaintiff’s profanity and fighting at work, or her arrests for drunk driving and drug possession.

So, you’d think that the plaintiff would cut and run after the district court dismissed her claims for pregnancy, sex, race, and religious discrimination claims. But, the plaintiff who referred to herself at work as “crazy” and “psycho” decided to appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

And how do you think that went for the plaintiff? Continue reading

A bipartisan federal bill proposes to require nursing mom protections for all female employees.

January 20, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Pete unseth [CC BY-SA]

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide new moms with reasonable break time and a private place to pump breastmilk.

Well, not all new moms; just the non-exempt workers; i.e., the overtime-eligible employees. But, new bipartisan legislation proposed last week in the Senate will change all that. Continue reading