Close

The Employer Handbook Blog

Updated:

Supreme Court makes it harder for employers to dispose of FLSA lawsuits

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…

Updated:

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,”…

Updated:

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…

Updated:

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…

Updated:

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…

Updated:

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…

Updated:

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…

Updated:

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…

Updated:

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…