Last night, just as I finished revising my Expert Analysis submission on workplace drug testing to Law360, another new Law360 article on cannabis use caught my eye. Whether by industry regulation or perhaps in an employee handbook, rules of ethics govern many workplaces. Rules of Professional Conduct govern the practice…
The Employer Handbook Blog
Need a way to neutralize a supervisor’s potentially biased employment decision? I’ll give you two.
I can’t tell you how to get toothpaste back in the tube. However, I can offer two ways to avoid losing a discrimination lawsuit when a biased supervisor recommends terminating a direct report. Before I share these tiny pearls of wisdom, I want to remind you to register (here) for the…
The guy who may have solicited prostitutes at work could win his retaliation lawsuit too
A recent decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals addresses the extent to which an employer may lawfully dig up reasons to terminate a current employee who has already sued for discrimination. The plaintiff initially filed a lawsuit against his employer alleging race discrimination, retaliation, and a race-based hostile…
Here’s how your company can basically GUARANTEE getting sued and going to trial
This one company I’m going to tell you about today allegedly acted so egregiously that it drew the attention of (and a lawsuit from) the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Imagine that someone comes to HR one day and complaints about sex discrimination. Do you? Reassure the complainant that the…
‘Central Park Karen’ believes its racist to call someone racist. A federal judge disagreed and dismissed her lawsuit.
You guys remember ‘Central Park Karen,’ right? I wrote about her last year. ‘Central Park Karen’ (not her real name) is a white woman who worked as a portfolio manager for an investment company in New York. That is until a video went viral on social media. That video depicted…
The Department of Labor is not messing around with employers messing with employee tips!
Here’s the general rule of thumb when employees receive tips. They get to keep them. As Jon Hyman pointed out in his blog post yesterday at the Ohio Employer Law Blog, there are certain exceptions to that rule, none of which involves sharing employee tips with managers and supervisors. A bunch…
The Employer Handbook Friday Zoom Happy Hour Returns on September 30, 2022 at Noon ET
With Summer winding down, it’s time to knock the dust off my Zoom Pro account, pour a beverage, and bring back The Employer Handbook Zoom Happy Hour. Most of you know the drill. But I’ll explain for the newer subscribers. On Fridays, often flanked by a FisherBroyles partner or another…
Is a request to transfer away from a supervisor antagonist a reasonable accommodation?
Imagine a situation that, well, won’t be too hard to imagine. One of your employees gets a new supervisor, and things don’t seem to be working out. The employee complains that the new supervisor scheduled her to work the closing shift even though it conflicted with her ability to provide…
Could an anonymous complaint about COVID-19 spawn a sex-based retaliation claim?
Winning a retaliation lawsuit against an employer isn’t easy. The plaintiff-employee must prove three elements: she engaged in a protected activity; the defendant-employer took an employment action adverse to the plaintiff; and there was a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse employment action. A journalist at a…
If a cyber-attack at work creates imminent risk of identity theft or fraud, your employees can sue you!
Think of all the personal, sensitive information that an individual shares with you just to have the opportunity to earn a living as an employee of your company. As part of onboarding, new employees provide their home address, social security number, bank and financial account numbers for direct deposit, insurance…