Because I’m here to remind you (and tell them) that “salary exempt” generally means nothing unless the employee performs certain duties. But let’s start with the basics. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires most companies to pay their U.S. employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime…
A white man working as the general manager of a hotel claimed that his white supervisor engaged in racial discrimination when she terminated his employment. Initially, I was skeptical. But not anymore. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful for employers to terminate an employee…
On August 16, 2019, an employee reported for the first time that a supervisor had made sexual comments to her that made her feel uncomfortable. The next day, management met with the alleged harasser about the allegations, and he resigned. Problem solved, right? Not exactly. The employee, who would later…
I’ve seen my share of lawsuits in which plaintiffs use discrimination as an excuse for the performance issues that led to their termination of employment. Although. I have yet to meet a plaintiff-employee whom the defendant-employment can convince to dismiss his discrimination lawsuit because there was no discrimination to begin with.…
In 1985, Rocky Balboa single-handedly ended the Cold War with the USSR after defeating Ivan Drago. Leading up to the big fight, Rocky trained hard. The conditions were grueling and clearly unequal. Ultimately, however, Rocky overcame those long odds and prevailed. The plaintiff in the Fifth Circuit decision I read…
I did a double take when I received an email alert late Friday with the subject line: “BREAKING: Ohio Judge Hit With $1.1M Verdict For Firing Jewish Staff Atty.” Sure enough, a jury awarded $1,120,000 ($835,000 in back pay, $250,000 in compensatory damages, and $35,000 in punitive damages) to an…
Tell me what you think of this. An employee is having behavioral issues at work, which leads to an official warning from the employer. The following month, a dispute between the employee and his supervisor leads the supervisor to email Human Resources that the employee’s behavior “is consistent with his…
I read another federal court opinion last night that reaffirms how important it is for employers to have effective antiharassment policies in their employee handbook. Before I tell you about the facts of the case, I’ll skip right to the punchlines: “The employer’s promulgation and dissemination of an antiharassment policy…
I’m presenting on HR compliance issues for remote workers today (via Zoom, naturally). The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is among the topics I plan to cover. And part of that discussion will involve whether remote workers are eligible to take FMLA leave. (It depends.) And how should businesses…
One of my biggest fears — an employment lawyer neuroticism — is that I will draft a settlement agreement in which I misplace the decimal point or accidentally add a zero, thus turning a $15,000.00 settlement into a $15,000,000 settlement. That’s why I spell out the number (fifteen thousand) and…