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The Employer Handbook Blog

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As a social-media-nerd employment lawyer, this one has me shakin’ my head.

In Pennsylvania, the Rules of Professional Conduct require that an attorney must stay abreast of changes in changes in the law, including the benefits of advances in technology. LinkedIn was founded over 10 years ago. If you’re reading this and you are not familiar with LinkedIn … I mean, geez. For…

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A federal judge in Alabama holds that Title VII covers sexual-orientation discrimination

Who would have guessed that, in a state without a state administrative agency to accept discrimination charges, where only age discrimination is against state law, a federal judge would rule that sexual orientation is considered sex discrimination and, therefore, a violation of Title VII. A groundbreaking decision. Yes, late last month, Judge Myron…

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Sir, yes, sir! Quoting “Full Metal Jacket” may create a hostile work environment

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28385889@N07/4065494694 That’s why I stick with Finding Nemo at work. I also find myself eating lunch alone and getting plenty of odd looks from the staff. Well, that and my mohawk. But, at least I’m not at risk of creating a hostile work environment. Well, well, Private Joker, I don’t…

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1.7 million reasons to reconsider issuing attendance points for medically-related absences

Burger Time and Astrosmash…who’s with me, Millennials! [Sigh] What does any of this have to do with employment law? Not much, I guess. The lede said “points,” and then I started thinking about video games, and I’m a sucker for Intellivision nostalgia. Well, anyway, the key here is points. Last week, the…

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“Off-the-clock” discriminatory Facebook messages can create a hostile work environment

As I type this post, I’m watching two of my kids — one dressed as Olaf; the other Elsa — yelling at each other to stop singing Frozen tunes. Now, they’re wrestling — I don’t remember that from the movie. For a snowman, that Olaf is pretty tough. Oh, damn!…

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A recap of EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum’s hour-long Twitter Q&A

Yesterday, EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum took over the Bloomberg Law Twitter handle (@Bloomberglaw) for an hour, and answered questions from employment-law Twitter nerds like me. Commissioner Feldblum covered the EEOC Select Task Force on Harassment,  ADA/FMLA interplay, discrimination and social media, and much more. You can view the entire Q&A here.…

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Latest study indicates rampant transgender discrimination at work

On Tuesday, voters in Houston, TX took to the polls and said no to Prop 1. That’s a ballot measure that would have outlawed discrimination at work against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and job applicants. Amanda Terkel at The Huffington Post reports here that, despite having widespread support from local…

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Court upholds employee firing after complaining about gay slurs. Was that a mistake?

Mr. Gaff worked as a custodian at a University. He claimed that, on several occasions, his subordinate called him a “fa***t.” So, Mr. Gaff complained to his supervisor. Then, Mr. Gaff was later fired. Retaliation? Are you going to be at the ABA Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference in Philly…

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President Obama wants federal agencies to “Ban the Box”

No more questions about criminal convictions on job applications. Flanked by New Jersey Senator (and former Newark Mayor) Cory Booker (D-NJ), President Obama announced yesterday in Newark, NJ that he would take action to help those with criminal convictions to find jobs. According to a White House Fact Sheet, one of…