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Articles Posted in Hiring & Firing

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Employee free speech on social media? HA! HA! says federal appellate court

Remember when I told you (in this blog post, this article, and this tv interview) that private-sector employees have no First Amendment right, while government employees have limited free-speech rights? I lied. Actually, I was telling the truth. Today’s blog post proves that. Michael Todd Snipes was a law enforcement officer…

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Post-Charlottesville, “Name and Shame,” and how employers can respond legally?

As I type out this post at 10:15 pm on Sunday evening, there are many reasons why I am thankful that NBC10 in Philadelphia tapped me for an interview that aired on Sunday. Not the least of which is that I can make this blog post a short one, link to…

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I’m going to explain at-will employment versus off-the-job free speech

Yesterday, a LinkedIn user who read Monday’s post, “How would you respond if your employee marched in Charlottesville?” asked his own question, Eric, could you explain more in depth – employment at will vs. Off the job free speech? I got this. At-will employment means that the employee or the employer…

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How would you respond if your employee was photographed marching in Charlottesville over the weekend?

Following a tumultuous weekend in Charlottesville, VA, where a white nationalist march turned deadly, it appears as though at least one attendee will return home from the rally to find himself unemployed. “Unite the Right” attendees are getting outed on social media and apparently losing their jobs. Seth Millstein at…

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No take backs! Employer rescinds a termination, but can’t dodge a discrimination claim

The rules of the playground apply with equal force at work. Except, no cooties. [For my email subscribers, sorry about the deluge of posts today. We had some technical difficulties with the email feed over the past two days. I apologize. But, you guys get what you pay for.] Yesterday,…

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Another court greenlights a medicinal marijuana user’s lawsuit against his former employer

This may not be Magic vs. Bird or Biggie vs. Tupac. Those battles are too close to call. But, if I were to ask you which side of the country, east coast or west coast, would offer greater judicial support for the employment rights of medicinal-marijuana cardholders, you’d say west…

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Here’s how promoting your company on LinkedIn could cost you your job.

Especially if you overlook that non-solicitation agreement you signed with your prior employer… Early last month, I blogged here about a situation involving an individual who: signed a non-solicitation agreement with Company A; left Company A to work for Company B; and invited some former Company A employees to connect…

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What would you like to know about the law on employee use of medicinal marijuana?

Last month, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held (here) that a local employer may have a duty to accommodate an employee’s use of medicinal marijuana. You can read more about that decision at Jon Hyman’s Ohio Employer’s Law Blog. Wait, what? If marijuana is still considered an illegal drug under federal law —…

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That moment HR discovers its $2,666,594.03 typo in a fully-signed severance agreement

Back in the day, landing on “Community Chest” in Monopoly was second only to building hotels on Boardwalk. But, even with inflation, neither approaches the feeling of discovering that your employer goofed by agreeing to provide you with $2,747,400 in severance pay, rather than the previously agreed-upon $80,805.97. Yep, that happened.…

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He was fired for a Facebook post, but can he still collect unemployment benefits?

An employee who lost his job for badmouthing his boss on Facebook should still collect unemployment benefits, according to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Ain’t that a wicked pissah. It’s further proof that employees can get away with doing a lot of bad stuff on social media. For example, do…