Many of you skip over my posts about labor unions because you view them as out of sight and mind. “My business isn’t union. I’m not concerned about it.” But that may change soon. Attempts to form labor unions are skyrocketing, and the Labor Board’s top lawyer wants to facilitate…
The Employer Handbook Blog
Even LAW FIRMS commit SIX-FIGURE wage and hour violations, apparently.
Yes, even lawyers can misclassify non-exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. What happened? According to this U.S. Department of Labor press release, a Detroit law firm paid its administrative and support staff workers a salary for all hours worked but failed to pay at least 36 workers the…
How can unionized companies accommodate employees with religious beliefs without violating a CBA?
Back in 1977, Star Wars premiered, Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown, and the Supreme Court established that employers need not reasonably accommodate religious beliefs under Title VII if inconsistent with a collective bargaining agreement. Plus, Title VII does not require an employer to discriminate against other union employees by…
Join me for a new limited-run podcast called “Working Class”
From the creator of the blog that brought you, Did I ever tell you about the employee that called the owner a “f***ing crook”? and Dammit! They’re practically twisting my arm to blog about union-related stuff comes something new and exciting! I’m part of a new podcast called Working Class. Working…
This manager’s April Fool’s Day prank backfired MONUMENTALLY!
Imagine showing up to work last Friday only to have your boss tell you that you are fired, laugh, and walk off. This supposedly happened to a Reddit user who posted about it here in the r/antiwork subreddit. According to the Redditor, he spent the next two hours following his…
While the EEOC facilitates bias claims for non-binary employees, here are seven ways to support them at work.
The nation’s anti-discrimination enforcer is promoting greater equity and inclusion for members of the LGBTQI+ community. Soon, non-binary individuals can select a nonbinary “X” gender marker during the voluntary self-identification questions that are part of the intake process for filing a charge of discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission…
195,000 reasons to remember that state family leave laws don’t always track the FMLA
If you operate a business in a state that has a family and medical leave law, be careful when that state law does not overlap precisely with the Family and Medical Leave Act. For example, in New Jersey, a/k/a the California of the East, an employee can get job-protected leave…
Save yourself a call to your employment lawyer with this easy COVID-19 tool
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a tool to help determine how long employees need to isolate, quarantine, or take other steps to prevent spreading COVID-19? Late last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unveiled this Quarantine and Isolation Calculator to help people know what to do…
Five reasons why EEOC mediation may be right for your business
Last night, in an American Bar Association study, I read that juries decide less than one percent of federal civil cases. Sometimes parties win on motion. But most of these cases settle somewhere along the way. Knowing this — and considering the cost of litigation — it shocks me that…
The Employee Rights of Act of 2022 has a nice ring to it. The problem is…
There aren’t enough Republicans in Congress to provide the votes needed to pass this new bill — let alone overcome a veto from President Biden. But that won’t stop me from talking about it and dreaming wistfully about one day what could be for my employer audience. What is the…