Hiring & Firing

Apparently, selling “Wake The [expletive] Up” coffee raises the “for cause” termination bar

April 30, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Let this be a lesson to those who are thinking about selling “Wake The F*&k Up” Coffee, “The Hottest F*&king Nuts,” or “The Hottest F*&king Sauce.”

Recently, I read this article from Clark Kauffman in the Des Moines Register about a cashier at the Last Chance Market in Iowa, who was allegedly fired after she and a customer began discussing various sexual activities in front of other customers. These customers then complained to management about the sexual banter, hence the pink slip.

Not that the employer need a reason to fire the crude cashier. Presumably, she was an at-will employee. But, the stakes are raised when an employee files for unemployment compensation benefits. That is, generally speaking, a terminated employee will receive u/c, unless the termination is for some sort of willful misconduct.

A 79-year-old teacher was fired for refusing to unfriend her students on Facebook

April 11, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

A teacher getting in trouble for something having to do with Facebook?

You don’t say…

The full story, plus another state has passed a social media workplace privacy law. I’ve got it all for you after the jump…

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What’s hot at the EEOC? Plus, a legal roadmap for managing the aging workforce.

April 10, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Whatcha doin’ two weeks from today?

Want to grab some breakfast with me? Maybe hear about what’s hot at the EEOC and get a legal roadmap for managing the aging workforce?

In you’re in the Philadelphia area and would like to learn more about these topics, then come on down to our offices on Thursday, April 24 at 8:30 AM for a free presentation with a complimentary continental breakfast. Lawyers can get CLE. HR credits will also be offered.

That’s what she said: How to navigate the pitfalls of the FCRA

March 19, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

When the Fair Credit Reporting Act comes a knock knock knockin’ on HR’s door, who among you, will answer the call?

Fear not, kids. Cinch on your big boy/girl underpants! My colleague, Stacey Schor, in this post, has outlined a recent federal court decision that provides valuable guidance on how employers can comply with the strict requirements of FCRA, so that your hiring decisions are FCRA-bulletproofed.

This one goes out to all out FCRA freaks fans. Holler if you hear me!

Husband’s “kill list” is your green light to fire an employee on FMLA

February 4, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Take it from your ol’ buddy Eric.

Let’s say that your employee is on FMLA…

And let’s say that, while your employee is on FMLA, you learn that her husband is involved in a motorcycle gang…

The hella-worst job interview blunders evah!

January 31, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

I heard this story once about a law-school graduate who was looking for his first job out of school. He applied to several local Philadelphia-area law firms, and ultimately received an interview from one of them.

The job interview was with two seasoned partners.

According to this recent Career Builder press release, when it comes to a job interview, the first few minutes may be the most crucial. Nearly half (49 percent) of employers know within the first five minutes of an interview whether a candidate is a good or bad fit for the position, and 87 percent know within the first 15 minutes.

Teacher fired over Facebook groping photo could get her job back

December 26, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in October, I blogged here about Ms. Cook, an Idaho school teacher who lost her job after her employer learned about a photo on her Facebook page that showed her boyfriend touching her chest.

(Oh, fine, here’s the pic)

What made this story unique — yeah, I know, teacher getting in trouble on Facebook is fast approaching “death and taxes” status — is that the female teacher’s boyfriend, also taught at the same school. He was not fired; merely disciplined.

Well, according to this story from Jimmy Hancock at the Idaho State Journal, Ms. Cook should be getting her job back soon:

A grievance panel has determined that former Pocatello High School girls’ basketball coach Laraine Cook should again be allowed to work as a teacher and that she should be rehired as the girls’ basketball coach for the 2014-2015 season….Addressing the firing, the panel said it should be rescinded and considered a suspension without pay from the time of the termination until the time of the panel’s decision.

The panel further noted that the lack of a social media policy afforded Ms. Cook little guidance as to what the school considered online behavior that could cost her her job.

So, use Ms. Cook’s situation as a wake-up call to implement/revise your social media policy. Remind your employees that certain online conduct — even on their own time — could cost ’em their jobs.

So your public relations executive just tweeted a racist joke that went viral…

December 23, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

It doesn’t end well for the PR Exec. Just so we’re clear.

Click through to read the full story…

HR’s 2013 Performance Review (via SHRM’s #nextchat)

December 5, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, We Know Next, the muscle-bound social media arm of the Society for Human Resource Management, hosted a NextChat session on Twitter.

Oh, you don’t know NextChat?

NextChat is a one-hour session on Twitter, which runs every Wednesday from 3-4 PM EST on a topic du jour — that’s the soup of the day — affecting HR.

Each NextChat features 8 questions posed to an HR influencer. During theNextChat, other Twitter users may tweet along using the hashtag #nextchat, or simply follow along by searching for the #nextchat hashtag.

This week, the HR influencer was moi. (Go figure). The topic: HR’s 2013 Performance Review.

If you missed yesterday’s NextChat, check out all great tweets after the jump…

NLRB ok’s firing of two employees who trashed their company on Facebook

November 15, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

It’s been a while since we’ve discussed discipline for employee Facebook behavior. So, let’s go over some basics. Generally speaking:

one employee, griping alone on Facebook about his employer, can be fired; but

two employees, complaining together on Facebook about their employer, cannot be fired.