The Family and Medical Leave Act allows eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for a variety of reasons, including for one’s own serious health condition. An employee with a serious health condition can take FMLA leave if the employee satisfies…
The Employer Handbook Blog
He was late for work 111 times because of….BREAKFAST?!?! (And kept his $90,000 job).
Earlier this year, I shared the most unique late-to-work excuses. “I have a bad habit of eating breakfast in the morning, and I lost track of time” did not make the list. However, according to the Associated Press, a New Jersey teacher used that excuse to explain away the 111 times he was…
SURVEY: Are you using social media to find job candidates? If not, you’re in the minority.
The recent uptick in activity on my “fired AND Facebook” Google Alert suggests that individuals with jobs continue to struggle with social media (Exhibit A, B). However, according to a recent survey from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), 65% of surveyed employers found their new hires through social media this…
Must you pay employees who “volunteer” to use social media for the company?
I think I finally figured out how to monetize this stupid blog. 😉 Let’s fly out to Hawaii. Drums please. (By the way, in case you missed Friday’s post, here’s another little known fact about yours truly: I have seen EVERY episode of the Jack Lord Hawaii Five-O). Work-related blogging is…
Under the ADA, can you fire an alcoholic who doesn’t request treatment?
An alcoholic employee can present a number of tricky legal issues affecting the workplace. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, there’s a certain dichotomy. That is, alcoholism is a disability under the Act. However, an employer can ban alcohol in the workplace and require that employees not be under the…
Eric Meyer: Employment lawyer, blogger, husband, father of 4, and so much more. (Ok, 5 more things).
Every so often, I like to reach out to a random reader of this blog to get their feedback on what I’m doing right (everything) and what I could improve upon (my arms). Yesterday, I spoke with a reader who mentioned that she liked the posts where I table the…
The #WDBJ-TV tragedy and how companies can prevent workplace violence
Yesterday’s tragic shooting in Virginia, in which two journalists were killed by a former co-worker and third individual was badly injured, was blindsiding. In the hours that passed, we learned more about the shooter’s turbulent work history. However, the only real hints at total disaster came in near real time, as the…
Actually, exposing yourself and leering at a female co-worker may be sexual harassment
We’re talking full frontal here. And oddly, it took a federal appellate to figure this out. That is, a female plaintiff alleged that her male co-worker pulled out his penis three times (once to her and her co-worker, and two other times at work to other female co-workers…
ADA accommodations for deaf employees in safety-sensitive positions
One of my all-time favorite ADA cases — God, am I a dork — is Keith v. County of Oakland, which I previously blogged about here. It involves a deaf lifeguard who applies for a position at a public pool and what, accommodations, if any are reasonable to allow him…
She was fired for refusing to pray with a client. Why did this employee LOSE her religious bias lawsuit?
Do you want the answer from me? Oh, this is awkward. I was literally asking you. But, ok, fine. I think that I can help. Friday’s post addressed a situation in which honoring a customer’s preference for a white delivery-person over a black delivery-person cost a box-store manager his job and…