About three years ago, I blogged here about Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk, a Supreme Court decision addressing a situation in which a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action could be dismissed if the lead plaintiff rejects a Rule 68 offer of judgment. However, the Supreme Court left open the issue of “whether an unaccepted…
The Employer Handbook Blog
Flushing the toilet on a phone interview — and nine other ways not to get hired
Well, at least it was a phone interview. Hey, one thing you guys know about me is that I’m all about the low hanging fruit and the cheap laugh. So, when I see that CareerBuilder has published it’s 2016 version of “Employers Share Strangest Interview Mishaps and Biggest Body Language Mistakes,”…
FLSA 101: When do you have to pay employees for rest breaks?
This Tuesday blog post is brought to you by the number 20. As in, when your non-exempt employees go on break for 20 minutes or less, you need to pay them for that time. A “bright-line rule.” The regulations to the Fair Labor Standards Act say (here) that “rest periods of…
Can an FMLA-eligible employee decline FMLA and take other accrued leave instead?
***Double checks Powerball ticket*** Dammit! Oh, hi there. I didn’t see you come in. Now, get out of here and head over to Thompson’s HR Compliance Expert. You’ll find a new feature called “Opposing Counsel.” At various points throughout the year, I will debate HR-compliance issues with employee-rights lawyer, and my…
Don’t let this be the year that your business faces a big wage and hour lawsuit
Unfortunately, I did not win last night’s Powerball jackpot. Thus, today, you get a substantive post about employment law, rather than a terse, “Thanks for reading, suckers!” Send Off. Oh, but you’re still my suckers. I say that with peace and love. Suckers. Workplace class actions are booming! Today, for the…
When must companies accommodate employee medical marijuana use? How about never?
I’ve blogged (here) that grilling a medical marijuana user about her disability, just before firing the employee, could give rise to a viable disability-discrimination claim. In other words, where the disability (as opposed to the medical marijuana use) motivates the employment action, that’s discrimination. I’ve blogged before (here) that the Americans with…
GUEST POST: Can Your Cyber Policy Handle The Truth (About Your Employees)?
Because all of the images of Colonel Jessup ordering a Code Red are copyright protected, you get this one of Jack. But, better than Jack, today you get Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot numbers a guest post from my colleague, Jordan Rand. In addition to having a half-decent jump shot, Jordan is developing…
Inconsistent employee discipline can create legal issues. Here’s a way to fix that.
That was my KitKat! Spit it out! Spit it out, dammit! Hey, hey, turn off that camera! Over the weekend, after the Hershey’s Chocolate World shenanigans, I read a Fifth Circuit FMLA retaliation opinion that, unfortunately, read like so many prior employment legal skirmishes. Employee claims that she was fired for…
C.R.E.A.M. FMLA
Yep, I’m pretty sure that’s what Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, and Method Man are rapping about here. It’s FMLA, son. A Wu-Tang Clan-inspired post. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is Wu-Tang Clan‘s first studio album. Perhaps, the biggest hit on the platinum Wu-Tang debut is C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me). That was back…
Five employment cases blowing up my DropBox and Pocket
You know, being a client of the Blogger King has its perks. (That’s me. I’m the Blogger King). When I’m not litigating and counseling on employment-related issues, I’m taking blog post requests and emailing weekly updates of HR goodies that don’t make it onto the blog. But, with my DropBox and Pocket chock full…