During the third inning of Saturday’s game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, Yankees’ third baseman Josh Donaldson and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson had to be separated after an exchange of words (and some earlier in the game) in which Mr. Anderson claimed that Mr.…
The Employer Handbook Blog
California Employers, Are You Prepared For Upcoming Data Privacy Changes?
It was perfect timing, really. A few hours after yesterday’s “New Jersey is back doing New Jersey things, like trying to kill restrictive covenants” post went live, two of my partners at FisherBroyles reaffirmed that California will always be the true OG with this article, “California Employers, Are You Prepared…
New Jersey is back doing New Jersey things, like trying to kill restrictive covenants
For one of the most employee-friendly states in the country, the current state of play in New Jersey for restrictive covenant agreements like non-competes and non-solicits is employer-friendly. Although your mileage may vary by judge, most will enforce reasonable contracts of up to two years with a geographical footprint that…
New legislation in the House and Senate will make wage and hour violations WAY MORE expensive for employers (and criminal too)
Last week, the House and Senate introduced a bill called the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act. One of the bill’s primary goals is to ensure that workers receive timely regular paystubs and final paychecks. That seems non-controversial. But as you read deeper into the proposed legislation, you’ll find…
Is calling a man “bald” considered harassment based on sex?
Yesterday, I read many headlines, like this one in The Guardian: “Calling a man ‘bald’ is sex-related harassment, employment tribunal rules.” Is it, though? Let’s take a closer look. First off, let’s dispense with a giant disclaimer. This decision is from an English Employment Tribunal, an independent tribunal that makes…
If your hiring software does this, the EEOC says its age discrimination
In this Friday post, I shared some technical guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to help employers navigate the Americans with Disabilities Act when using software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence to assess job applicants and employees. But employers using hiring software can discriminate in other…
These free resources can help you avoid disability discrimination claims when hiring using artificial intelligence
More employers now are using software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence to make smarter hiring decisions. There’s nothing inherently unlawful about that. Except, consider this. Maybe the algorithm intentionally or unintentionally “screens out” an individual with a disability, even though that individual can do the job with a reasonable accommodation. Tangentially, an…
Man missed deadline to file disability discrimination lawsuit by about 40 years. FORTY!!!
His claims were so old that they predate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Let’s see how his ADA lawsuit turned out. (Spoiler alert: Not well). I’d been meaning to blog about this Sixth Circuit decision for a while. Here are the relevant facts: In 1980, the plaintiff suffered…
Jury awards $2,036,860,045 for misappropriation of trade secrets. Yes, over $2 billion!
Yesterday, a tech company announced that a Virginia jury had awarded it the biggest damages award in state court history. It was an employment case. Hopefully, I have your attention. According to the plaintiff’s press release, the jury heard evidence that the defendant hired an employee of a government contractor to…
PODCAST: On this episode of Working Class, how to deal with employee whistleblowers
Have you ever watched The Dropout on Hulu? It’s about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos, which sounds a lot like Thanos. Sadly, the Hulu show has nothing to do with the Marvel Universe or The Avengers, both of which are right in my wheelhouse.…