The Employer Handbook Blog

Highlights from yesterday’s #SHRM webinar on changes to the #overtime rules

July 10, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

SHERMANLogo

Over yesterday’s lunch hour, SHRM hosted a fantastic webinar entitled, “Changes to the Department of Labor’s Overtime Rules,” featuring Michael Eastman and Nancy Hammer. If you missed it, and you’re interested in learning more about the single most important change in the law for 2016 to impact your business, you can catch the one-hour replay here. Or, you can view my not-so-snarky live tweet recap here.

Either way, it’s worth your time.

(And, by “either way,” I mean skip my tweets and register for the webcast on-demand).

1 crotch grab + 1 N-word + 1 threat + 4 sex slurs = 0 hostile work environments

July 9, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

You won’t find this one on the SAT’s. Continue reading

This is the worst team-building exercise ever. Yes, ever.

July 8, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

I tweeted this yesterday, but, lest anyone missed my admonition, I’m giving it its own short post.

Folks, recreating an ISIS beheading and posting the video on Instagram is no way to build trust and workplace camaraderie. That’s an HR pro tip from yours truly.

(h/t The Sun)

Hey, remind me, what is associational discrimination again?

July 7, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

We all know that the Americans with Disabilities Act makes its unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an individual on the basis of his or her disability. But, the Act has even broader protections for employees. Continue reading

If you thought you knew when to pay (or not pay) an intern, think again.

July 6, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

A federal appellate court just blew up the U.S. Department of Labor’s spot. Allow me to explain in slightly less colloquial fashion.

What these (former) employees did on social media was beyond stupid. #stoopid

July 2, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

For blog fodder, but, mostly for my amusement, I have a Google Alert for “fired AND facebook OR twitter.” Usually, it’s just a hit or two. But, yesterday, I hit the jackpot. Continue reading

Five ways for proactive employers to prepare now for the new OT rules

July 1, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Hey lawyer! Drop the selfie stick and slowly back away…

Somewhere between the time that I took this selfie at the start of my FMLA/ADA session at the 2015 SHRM Annual Conference, and a few minutes later when the laptop with my PPT lost power (so, right when my ~~bowels gave out~~ heart sank and I openly wept), the US Department of Labor decided it was time to propose some new overtime rules.

What can I say? The gods of good timing really pissed in my Cheerios yesterday.

(Special shout-out to the SHRM IT support team that had me up and running again with a minute, and to the awesome SHRM audience that never lost faith in the kid).

Here’s a brief recap of the proposed OT rule change: Continue reading

Hey, there’s new pregnancy discrimination guidance from the EEOC

June 30, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

You can find it here.

I’d love to hang around and offer my commentary, but I’ve got a thing.

Image Credit: “Chevy Chase 1976” by photo by Alan Light. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

What the Supreme Court’s marriage-equality decision means for your workplace.

June 29, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Ok, presumably, I’m not the only employment lawyer trying to apply the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to the employer-employee relationship. But, I can guarantee that this will be the best post you read about it today.

#noguarantees Continue reading

Update your job descriptions. Because, Americans with Disabilities Act.

June 26, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

A friendly reminder that, just because your job description might say what an employee is supposed to do, doesn’t mean that’s what your employee actually does. And, in an Americans with Disabilities Act case, here’s why that matters…