Inconsistent discipline is bad. But, when an employee’s request for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act precedes the inconsistent discipline by only 48 hours, damn, that’s not just a lawsuit, that’s jury-verdict material. The details on this bloodbath and a few lessons for my employer-readers after the jump… Kathleen…
The Employer Handbook Blog
Snoop Dog becomes Snoop Lion! And news of a new employee Facebook law
Calvin Broadus a/k/a Snoop Dogg is now the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg. During a recent trip to Jamaica, Snoop was apparently *** afraid to add snarky strikethrough for fear of losing job *** “born again” and is now Snoop Lion. But in even BIGGER news — Drop it like it’s hot!…
A scary NLRB decision threatening the integrity of workplace investigations
HR heads are still spinning as they try to digest what the National Labor Relations Board has tried to accomplish this year. The Acting General Counsel has issued confusing reports on social media. The Board has also attempted to create quickie union elections, and require companies to abide by a…
“An employee walks into a hospital wearing a Jesus lanyard…”
They can’t all begin with a priest, minister and a rabbi walking into a bar. Then again, it’s “Religious Accommodation Tuesday” here at The Employer Handbook. So, after the jump, we’ll discuss the test to determine whether an employee may lawfully don religious items at work and find out whether the…
HR Manager emails bolster employee’s ADEA and FMLA claims
Documentation is good; smoking-gun emails from the HR Manager not so much. After the jump, I’ve got a few doozies which now have a financial institution going to trial on a former employee’s age-discrimination and Family and Medical Leave Act claims. * * * In Phillips v. StellarOne Bank (opinion…
Big changes coming to the Mine Safety and Health Act?
Yesterday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) reintroduced, for a third time, the “Robert C. Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act,” which would amend the Mine Safety and Health Act. What does this bill say (CliffsNotes version)? And what are the chances of passage? Find out after the jump… *…
Egyptian-born FBI agent + post-9/11 transfer = discrimination claim
I am an F….B…..I…. Agent! And if anyone wants to get me this iPad case for Christmas… Wait, what was I supposed to be writing about? Oh yeah, national-origin discrimination. I’ll get it together for you after the jump… * * * Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian-born American citizen, claimed that…
Fact or Fiction: The ADA requires creating a new job for a disabled employee
That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.” Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation, if doing so will allow…
Recipient of nasty racial slurs from an office friend loses bias claim
What if I told you that a female black employee was called “monkey” and “nappy head Raggedy Ann” at work? What if I then told you that the employee subsequently sued in New Jersey state court; quite possibly the most plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction in the U.S. — next to California? And…
The EEOC’s subpoena power is crazazy broad. Wooo!!!
On behalf of an illiterate man, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigated a Charge of Discrimination against a MD employer, which allegedly had a literacy policy that violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (by discriminating against qualified individuals with learning disabilities). As part of its investigation, the…