When an employee sues his former employer alleging a religiously hostile work environment, he must prove, among other things, that he was subjected to harassment based on his religion and that the harassment was either severe or pervasive. What do you think? Is the email below from a company General…
Back on August 26, in this post, I gave the heads up that the National Labor Relations Board would require most private-sector employers to post this notice (a super-sized version of the one on the right), in a conspicuous location, informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act,…
About a year, I wondered whether employers should ever require job applicants to divulge Facebook passwords. Ultimately, I concluded then — and still believe now — that while employers may choose to use social media as part of a background-check process, you’re playing with fire if you start asking job…
Quick quiz: What protections does the ADA provide to veterans with disabilities? When is a veteran with a service-connected disability protected by the ADA? May an employer ask if an applicant is a “disabled veteran” if it is seeking to hire someone with a disability? So, how did you do?…
I got this as a Google Alert on Monday. The case is Davids v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Allow me to set the stage for you. Plaintiff sues, claiming ongoing suffering from osteonecrosis of the jaw (if you click the link, don’t look at the picture on the right. Ewwwww) Defendant…
Yesterday, I had the absolute privilege of moderating a panel on social media in the workplace at TLNT Transform in Austin, TX. Transform is for talent managers and HR leaders who are looking for cutting-edge insights and best practices from innovative and forward-thinking companies. Three HR Rockstars, Karren Fink, Laurie…
I’ve come up with some pretty creative defenses to unlawful harassment. Usually, however, before I file a pleading, I take out my trusty red pen iPad and delete those arguments that are just so outrageous that I feel my client will lose credibility with the court. But that’s just me. After…
Some folks — not you and me, but some folks — can watch porn at work and not get in trouble; they work in the porn industry. When you’re an employee of the courts — a courtroom clerk, to be precise — it’s frowned upon. Oh, you’ll never guess what…
What were you doing yesterday between 3 and 4 PM EST? Me? I was tweeting with the great people at SHRM’s We Know Next and several other Twitter stars, answering questions and otherwise making insightful snarky comments that sniffed insightful but were generally closer to snarky, on the topic of…
Hey, that blog title looks familiar. Oh yeah! I wrote about it here back in October. This time around, another federal court, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, has reaffirmed that while a “leave of absence may be a reasonable accommodation [under the Americans with Disabilities Act]”, the employee must provide…