Imagine arriving at work in the morning to the red light indicator on your desk phone. So, you pick up the handset, punch in a few numbers, and are greeted with a voicemail from your President. She’d like you to ask the employment lawyer whether it’s “legal” to pose an ultimatum to two…
Folks, it’s been a real crappy 2016 for Chipotle. Critical tweets about work get deleted. Last year, Chipotle’s National Social Media Strategist saw a series of tweets from a Chipotle employee working just outside of Philadelphia. The tweets had a common theme: working conditions: One of Kennedy’s tweets included a news…
I know when the new Department of Labor overtime rules are going to take effect. Well, I think I know… First, what is the DOL proposing to do? Here’s a summary of the rule change from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) The Department proposes to update the regulations…
Call it a rule of reason. Or, maybe, it just doesn’t pass the smell test. We could even file this under “Just Sayin’.” And, of course, it would fracture a few laws, among others, the Fair Labor Standards Act. [Cue music] In Maphurs v. Cooling Tower Systems, Inc. (opinion here), the plaintiff claimed…
An even worse idea, my friends, is admitting that you still drink Zima filed a defamation lawsuit in response to an employee’s complaint to the EEOC. A national origin claim becomes a retaliation lawsuit. Late last week, Kurt Orzeck, writing at Law360, reported here about a lawsuit that the EEOC initiated in California federal…
What would happen if you punched your boss in the face? Wait! Don’t answer that. Ok, allow me. You’d get fired. But, what if, after you get fired, your boss calls you an awful racist/religious/sexist/”you name it” slur? Could it be reasonably inferred retroactively that bias motivated your firing? According to this recent…
Last week, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made headlines by filing its first lawsuits against private-sector businesses challenging sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination. Meanwhile, yesterday, another federal court in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc. (opinion here) concluded just the opposite: sexual orientation discrimination is “reprehensible,” but does not violate Title VII of the…
Don’t answer that. Instead, picture this: A well-dressed guy saunters into the Washington Renaissance. Don’t worry, before next week, I’ll wash the stains out of my Metallica hoodie. Ok, Ratt hoodie. Ok, N’ Sync hoodie. Ok, N’ Sync sleeveless hoodie. He’s cool(ish) and snarky; he’s got an employment law blog and…
We have an extra-special guest blogger today. It’s my mentee, Meaghan Londergan. (Sorry, folks, all of The Karate Kid images were copyright protected). Sadly, I no longer work with Meaghan. But, in her defense, there’s only so much Meyer that a young impressionable associate can take. Since then, Meaghan’s been…
A temporary disability isn’t an Americans with Disabilities Act “disability;” except, when it is. In Clark v. Boyd Tunica, Inc. (opinion here), the plaintiff suffered a fractured ankle on the job. Her employer had a policy that employees were subject to drug tests following an on-the-job injury or illness requiring medical…