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The Employer Handbook Blog

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How to fire a poor performer who complains about discrimination and still avoid a retaliation claim

Image by Christos Giakkas from Pixabay You have an underperforming supervisor in your workplace. Several employees have complained about her work performance and leadership. So, the plan is to fire her. Except, three weeks before you terminate this supervisor’s employment, she complains about discrimination. Can you go through with the…

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The DOL plans to make it easier for you to pay bonuses while using the fluctuating workweek

After a Harry Potter tour behind-the-scenes, some additional London sightseeing, and a Premier League game, the Meyers have made it back to the United States. Unfortunately, since my body is still on Greenwich Mean Time, I’m typing this post at 5:30 in the morning local time. But, hey, my four…

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Was the plaintiff too Jewish to get a job in Ohio? Or was it something else? (Spoiler alert: Something else)

Having avoided sepsis and other O’Hare carpet-related food contamination, the Meyer Family arrived in London yesterday, dominated some fish and chips (not pictured above) in Soho, and is gearing up for a full day of sightseeing and shenanigans today. So, with the kids in bed and me at the computer…

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A company called the plaintiff an ‘old timer’ and later fired him. But he LOST his age bias claim. Here’s why…

Image Credit: https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Old-man-with-cane/46227.html There are plenty of buzzwords and phrases that, when uttered in the workplace, made provide good fodder for an age discrimination claim. For example, referring to someone as an ‘old timer’ can be direct evidence of age discrimination. Then, if an email were to surface in which…

Posted in: Age
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You know that employee that won’t shut up about being underpaid? Yeah, well, you may be stuck with that person.

At first glance, this recent National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Advice Memorandum, with all its redactions and such, seems hardly worth the trouble to parse through. But, that’s why they pay me the big bucks bupkis to blog and try to make something out of nothing. And I’ve done…

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Holocaust denials — especially in email — generally don’t provide job security

Image by macdeedle from Pixabay Here, I’ll prove it. Several news outlets have reported that a Florida high school principal is no longer employed at the school after he allegedly told a parent, he ‘can’t say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event’ Here’s more from Nicole Darrah reporting here…

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“Surprise! There’s a Skeleton in Your Candidate’s Closet!”

Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay A few weeks ago, the great folks at ERE Media invited me to speak at the ERE Recruiting Conference in Washington, DC about what happens when you learn that one of your recruits has done something on social media that doesn’t mesh well with…

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You’re worried that an obese applicant may later develop diabetes. Can you refuse to hire him?

Renée Gordon (FDA), Victovoi [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsLast night, I read this recent Seventh Circuit opinion about a man who applied for a job with a railroad. The job required some fairly physical work; namely, climbing and working on and around heavy equipment. The company’s policy was not to…

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Sexy Mister Rogers and the rest of your last-minute ‘what not to wear to work tomorrow’ checklist.

Petar Milošević [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsA few years ago, my wife and I were able to convince my younger son (then five years old) that he should consider other costumes beyond his first choice: the “Adult Skeleboner One Piece Costume,” which didn’t glow in the dark like the…