Hiring & Firing

Legal? Replacing over 100 workers without any sort of notice

July 5, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

In December 2006, 247 union workers went on strike at the Kohler manufacturing plant in Searcy, Arkansas. Three months later, Kohler hired 123 replacement workers.

Kohler and the Union settled their dispute in March 2008. As part of the settlement, Kohler agreed to reinstate the striking strikers. Kohler then fired the replacement workers and returned 103 of the original 247 striking workers to their former positions. 111 of the replacement workers then filed suit under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”) alleging that they should have been given at least 60-days notice before being laid off.

Did Kohler violate WARN? Find out after the jump…

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New NJ public employees must move to NJ

May 24, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Last week, Governor Christie signed the “New Jersey First Act,” a bill that will require all NJ public employees hired after September 1, 2011 to live in New Jersey. Current public workers will not be affected. New hires will have up to a year to move.

***I would have reported this last week. But, then there was that masturbating Brazilian accountant thing. C’est la vie.***

How long does an employee get to review a severance agreement?

May 10, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

If you guessed 15 minutes, you would be right, according to a recent decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

And you don’t need to point a gun at the employee’s head? A rusty fork in the doo-dads “knowing and intelligent” waiver based on a “totality of the circumstances” will suffice.

What are those circumstances? Find out after the jump.

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Survey says: More people are going online to find work

May 5, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

More than a quarter of people surveyed from around the world are going online in their hunt for work, but many are growing nervous about the potential career fallout from personal content on social networking sites, according to a recent survey.

Highlights of this report after the jump…

No more “unemployed need not apply” ads in New Jersey

April 26, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

In just over a month, a new law in NJ forbidding business from discriminating against unemployed job candidates will take effect.

More about this new law and the effect it will have on NJ employers, after the jump…

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When can Philly employers ask about criminal convictions?

April 20, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back on March 22, I reported that City Council would vote on the “Fair Criminal Screening Standards” bill, a measure that would forbid city employers from discriminating or retaliating against job candidates with criminal convictions. City Council has since approved the bill and Mayor Nutter has signed it.

For more details about this bill and the effect it will have on employers, check out my March 22 post and this e-Alert from Marjorie Obod and Katharine Hartman of Dilworth Paxson LLP.

One thing is clear, Philadelphia employers better act hella-fast to update their employment applications, as this new law will take effect 90 days from when Mayor Nutter signed the bill. So what are you waiting for? (Yes, you have time to watch both the CGI and Alient Ant Farm cover of “Smooth Criminal”)

An employer’s 180 on asking new hires to divulge Facebook info

April 13, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the Maryland Department of Corrections was facing heat from the ACLU for requiring job applicants to divulge their Facebook passwords. It seems that the DOC has listened (not to me, but to the ACLU).

You can see the ACLU’s response, as well as a discussion of Facebook “privacy rights,” after the jump.

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Help Wanted: Must have #TigerBlood

March 8, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday was a busy day for Charlie Sheen.

Warner Brothers officially fired Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men and #TeamSheen commenced its world search for the first #TigerBloodIntern. You can read the job listing here. What does it take to be a #TigerBloodIntern? #TigerBlood (of course). And you must be all about #Winning. The right candidate is expected to be “proactive, monitor the day-to-day activities on the major social media platforms, prepare for exciting online projects and increase Charlie’s base of followers.”

So what can employers learn from this?

Unemployed applicant + no job offer = discrimination?!?

February 28, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

In a public meeting last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) examined the impact of employers considering only those currently employed for job vacancies.

Do those employers who won’t consider unemployed individuals for vacant positions engage in unlawful discrimination?

Find out, after the jump (or just watch my baby son dunk like Blake Griffin — slow to load, but worth the wait)…

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Can an employee be fired for using medicinal marijuana?

February 22, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

“I know you don’t smoke weed, I know this; but I’m gonna get you high today, ’cause it’s Friday; you ain’t got no job… and you ain’t got sh*t to do.” – Smokey from Friday (1995).

Back in 1995, when Smokey was trying to convince his buddy Craig to get high, California had yet to decriminalize marijuana for medical use. Now, a number of states have legalized medical marijuana.

But what happens when medical marijuana use results in a positive drug test at work? Is the company allowed to fire that employee?

Find out, after the jump.

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