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The Employer Handbook Blog

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Lawsuit: Open-mouth kisses, spanking, and nudity. No, this is most definitely not your typical pharmacy.

Image Credit: Google Street View I’ve been doing this employment law thing for many years now. It’s gotten to the point where little surprises me anymore. Yeah, about that. On Monday, Jon Hyman blogged about this recent federal court opinion at the Ohio Employer Law Blog in a post entitled, “The 1st nominee…

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EEOC hauls in over $5M from two employers accused of pregnancy discrimination. Here are some ways to keep your money.

Image Credit: Pixabay.com Read on to see how your business can avoid being part of this exclusive club. Two employers; over five million dollars. Last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced (here) that it had recovered $1.75M from a California employer that it had accused of systemic discrimination…

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Survey says that artificial intelligence may actually promote bias, rather than help to eliminate it

Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/artificial-intelligence-brain-think-3382507/) Wait, what? Last week, I participated in a Pennsylvania Bar Institute Continuing Legal Education program entitled, “Law’s New ABC’s: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency.” During that conference, I led panel discussions on how human resources can deploy artificial intelligence and the legal implications of paying employees…

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In plain English: How will Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek law impact your local business?

Image Credit: @HelenGymAtLarge (Twitter) In a 14-3 vote last week, Philadelphia City Council approved sweeping changes to the ways local employers can schedule work, hire new employees, and pay their workers. It’s kind of a big deal. And with Mayor Kenney chomping at the bit to sign the legislation, here’s…

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Not every offhand comment, slight, and insult is a federal lawsuit.

Image Credit: Publicdomanpictures.net (https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=6968&picture=sticks-n-stones) Meet “John” the firefighter. According to this federal court opinion, John (not his real name) is a Christian and holds various moral opinions; he also wears a cross and says grace before meals. And, apparently, there was some friction between John and his co-workers. Here’s how the…

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A case for progressive discipline

Image Credit: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=124918&picture=bulldozer-tractor-steps I’m going to start this by saying that I’m not a big fan of progressive discipline. (More on that in a bit.)  But, pick up a random employee handbook, and more often than not, it’s in there. For what it’s worth, when followed, progressive discipline does foster equal…

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Court denies man’s pay-disparity claim because, yep, he was paid more than the women. 🤦

By Ludwigs2 – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, Link I don’t remember much from law school. “Meyer, quick! Name three of ’em!” Ok. I rocked a bad-ass Nokia 8290. Dan’s Cafe in Adams Morgan was one of my go-to’s. In Employment Law, the professor taught us that pay-disparity claims generally…

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Discrimination. It ain’t rocket science. Well, except when it is.

By National Aeronautics and Space Administration – https://www.nasa.gov/sites/all/themes/custom/nasatwo/images/nasa-logo.svg, used on https://www.nasa.gov/ Former: Converted from Encapsulated PostScript at http://grcpublishing.grc.nasa.gov/IMAGES/Insig-cl.eps, Public Domain, Link Yes, even NASA gets sued for discrimination from time to time. Here is your proof. It’s a case about a really smart person who applied for a few positions…

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Wait, what? What did that store’s general manager just say about the applicant with a hurt arm?

Image Credit: PublicDomainPictures.net (https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=80073&picture=wait-what-blocky-text) Remember the employer that got socked with a six-figure jury award when it refused to allow a cashier to consume two bottles of orange juice from the store’s refrigerator to avoid slipping into diabetic shock? Welp, that employer apparently has not yet mastered the Americans with…

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The woman who worked for a sex-toy store has … wait for it … a sex-plus claim.

Image Credit: http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/14050 (nicubunu acquired from OCAL (Website)) On most days, I blog for you, my readers, to educate you on new legal issues and to keep you ahead of the HR-compliance curve. This is not most days. Tuesday, December 4 will be one of those days. If you haven’t…