January, 2021

An employee curses out a customer on Twitter. Was she fired? Heck no! The company had her back!

January 15, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

@MaidenSarah2 on Twitter

Often on this blog, I write about employees who lose their jobs for doing dumb stuff on social media — like the one-time Associate General Counsel and HR Director who live-streamed himself on Instagram from the Capitol riots. I’ve got slide decks full of this stuff from HR conferences I’ve presented over the years.

So, when I read that an employee of a grooming products company in England tweeted that a customer was a ‘t**t’ and a ‘f*****g w****r,’ my first impulse is to insert another PowerPoint slide.

Boy, was I wrong! Continue reading

A federal court just greenlit the failure-to-accommodate claim of a medical marijuana user. But why?!?

January 14, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Oh, I was just asking. I thought you knew. Continue reading

The EEOC has some big news for fans of EEO-1 filings!!!

January 13, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

party supplies by Made by Made from the Noun Project

Pay attention, you two! Continue reading

Can you fire an employee for complaining that the company violated state/local COVID-19 orders?

January 12, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

whistleblower by Lorie Shaull from the Noun Project

Often, readers of the blog will email me recent blogworthy HR news.

Occasionally, an attorney will send me a favorable decision that s/he obtained for a client on an employment law topic that may interest readers of this blog. Today, that’s what I’ve got for you — a case involving some healthcare workers who claimed that their former employer fired them for complaining that the company was not following state and local COVID-19 mandates. Continue reading

Before your business rewards employees for getting the COVID-19 vaccine, read this. (It may save you a lawsuit.)

January 11, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Shafin Al Asad Protic from Pixabay

According to a recent SHRM survey, most companies will encourage employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine — but not require it. Many employers, like this one, may even incentivize employees to get the vaccine by offering them money or extra PTO days to get the needle.

But, if you’re thinking about doing something similar, slow your roll. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you may end up unwittingly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Continue reading

A one-time Associate General Counsel and HR Director who was at the Capitol riots appears to be unemployed now.

January 8, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: @SollenbergerRC on Twitter

Remember that time in 2017 when a white nationalist march in Charlottesville turned deadly? Several participants ended up losing their jobs once exposed on social media.

Fast forward. Following Wednesday’s violent Capitol riots, a staff writer at Salon tweeted that the one-time Associate General Counsel and HR Director of a publicly-traded Texas-based insurance company, who apparently posted a video of himself on Instagram from outside the Capitol, no longer works there.

What’s the big difference between an independent contractor and an employee anyway?

January 7, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

Tug of War by Creative Mania from the Noun Project

Sam spent 60 hours working on a project for your company last week, for which the business paid Sam $1,000. The company treated Sam as an independent contractor.

But, what if Sam was actually an employee instead? Continue reading

Court: Warning! Employer may have violated WARN with mass layoff with little-to-no notice during pandemic

January 6, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

By Unknown author – From the Open Clip Art Gallery – http://openclipart.org/, CC0, Link

See what I did there? Don’t worry; I’ll be here all week. Continue reading

Here’s how to compensate employees that split their day between the office and telework

January 5, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Carlos Insignares from Pixabay

Let’s say that some of your non-exempt employees choose to telework for part of the day and work at the office for part of the day, with enough time to perform personal tasks in between. Do you have to compensate them for the travel time between home and office?

Let’s check out some hypothetical scenarios.

The DOL spent NYE updating its FFCRA guidance and issuing new wage and hour letters

January 4, 2021 | by Eric B. Meyer

Dance Party by Blaise Sewell from the Noun Project

While you were busy partying at home like it’s 1999 (cue music) or on Zoom with friends, or playing socially-distanced Cards Against Humanity, or whatever it is that HR folks do to let off a year of scalding-hot steam, the U.S. Department of Labor was staying busy at work on New Year’s Eve.