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The Employer Handbook Blog

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Will the Supreme Court be the hero that employers need for their class-action waivers?

Is it just me, or do you guys also quote Varsity Blues whenever you hear the Foo Fighters sing My Hero? “I don’t want your life.” Do your employees sign agreements requiring them to arbitrate all claims, while also prohibiting them from pursuing class or collective actions? Yeah, me too. I’ll be damned…

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Soon, all employers may be forbidden from asking about a job applicant’s salary history

Last month, Massachusetts passed a new law, which will take effect in July 2018, and make it illegal for employers to ask about a job applicant’s salary history before making an offer of employment.  As Stacy Cowley at The New York Times reports (here), the impetus for the new law is to…

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Yes, the NLRB will also clobber unions who punish social media complainers

And, you’ll have to excuse me for not clutching my pearls. Protected concerted activity is powerful stuff Like it or not, to a person, we can agree that the rulings flowing from the National Labor Relations Board over the past several years have been largely employee-friendly. This is especially true with cases involving employee…

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Blaming the victim is a bad way to respond to a sexual harassment complaint

Indeed, it cost a southern baptist church $25,000. According to this press release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the church is writing that check because: One of its kindergarten teachers complained that the pastor, who was also the school superintendent, had been sexually harassing her; Church officials informed…

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Arm the torpedoes! Full speed ahead with lawsuit against new DOL overtime rules!

There are 85 days left until the new U.S. Department of Labor overtime rules take effect. However, according the a recent report from Chris Opfer and Ben Penn at Bloomberg BNA (here; subscription required), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is ready to sue. What might the lawsuit say? Under the new…

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165,000 reasons to remember that associational discrimination violates the ADA

165,000 reasons meaning 165,000 dollars. But, you probably figured that out. What the heck is associational discrimination? Well, funny you should ask because, last Summer, I had a post about it. In the context of the Americans with Disabilities Act, associational discrimination occurs when a company excludes or otherwise denies equal jobs…

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This, right here, is why a good workplace investigation is EVERYTHING!

You received a complaint of sexual harassment from a female employee against a male co-worker. So, you promptly investigate, during which you interview the complainant and the alleged harasser, and review documents. When the investigation ends, you conclude that the female complainant — not the male co-worker — was the sexual harasser. So, you promptly…

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Can you sue an employee for filing what seems to be a false EEOC charge?

There was a time when I got that question from employer-clients more times than Tony Romo’s chokes in December. Do you like defending retaliation claims? Let’s go back to yesterday’s retaliation post for a sec. What you’ll find is a non-exclusive list of examples of behaviors that could be considered retaliatory.…

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Today’s Special: Retaliation. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know.

Since 1998, when the EEOC issued a compliance manual on retaliation, the percentage of EEOC private sector and state and local government charges alleging retaliation has practically doubled. Think about it. An employee complains to the company about some form of discrimination. Then that employee gets fired. So, that employee files a…