The Employer Handbook Blog

Beer muscles and a #SHRM12 lesson about accountability

June 27, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’m a fairly easy-going guy. My buttons don’t get easily pushed, I’m not easily riled, and I rarely get angry.

But, when I get fired up….look out, sucka!

One thing that really gets me going is when others fail to accept accountability for their mistakes and do nothing to fix them. As I punch out this blog post on my flight back from Atlanta following the SHRM Annual Conference and Expo — a truly first-class event that both HR professionals and employment lawyers should make it a point to attend at least once — all I can think about is an incident that occurred at my hotel, of all places.

It’s an unexpected reminder, one that separates the truly great from the good, that I’d like to share with you, after the jump…

* * *

Who is a supervisor?

June 26, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thumbnail image for Supreme Court.jpg

Nah, brotha. This isn’t Jeopardy. That’s the question that the Supreme Court has decided to answer.

Meyer, what are you talking about? Who cares?

Well, you should…

Employer customer lists: “Whatever you say, dude.”

June 25, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

You’re looking to hire a new salesperson. Scott Salesperson comes in to interview. He currently works for your top competitor.

“Scott, do you have a non-competition agreement?”

“No.”

“Scott, do you have a confidentiality agreement?”

“No. In fact, I have a list of my own customers that I could sell to if you hire me.”

Sounds good, right. But, before hiring Scott, do you have any obligation to independently verify the facts that Scott has represented?

New Jersey employers will definitely want to click through because, last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court answered…

* * *

Guest Post: The Problem with Safety Awards

June 22, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s Kristie Lewis. An expert in the construction industry, freelance writer Kristie Lewis offers tips and advice on choosing the best construction management colleges. She welcomes any questions and comments you might have at Kristie.lewis81@gmail.com.

And if you want to guest blog at The Employer Handbook, then email me.

* * *

Going to #SHRM12 in Atlanta? You know I’ll be there.

June 21, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Less than one week to go before the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition kicks off. I’ll be there. And here’s where we can meet up:

Monday night you can find me discussing cutting-edge HR/employment-law issues at The Official #SHRM12 TweetUp & Afterparty powered by SHRM & Glassdoor. And if you believe that, I’ll let you buy the first round. I prefer Johnny Blue and Cristal boilermakers. Cuz I’m a baller.

At 10 AM on Tuesday, I’ll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Live from the HIVE, Social Media Policy 101, for a Q&A with my buddy Curtis Midkiff. I’ll hang out afterwards to discuss any questions you may have. Those who bring me Red Bull Sugar Free will get their questions answered first. Unless, of course, you have cash.

The NLRB continues preaching to your non-union employees

June 20, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

As y’all know, the National Labor Relations Board has taken quite a beating recently in the courtroom. First, the Board was forced to delay requiring employers to post a union-rights poster in the workplace. Then, a federal court voided the Board’s “quickie” union-election rules.

But, this Board is resilient. This Board is determined to encourage your employees to seek strength in numbers. How does the Board plan to spread its message? Find out after the jump…

* * *

Supreme Court: No overtime pay for pharmaceutical sales reps

June 19, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thumbnail image for Supreme Court.jpg Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a company must pay overtime to non-exempt employees who work over 40 hours in a particular workweek. Non-exempt, huh? That implies that the FLSA also contains various exemptions from overtime pay for employees who meet those requirements. Indeed it does. One of those exemptions is called the “outside sales” exemption. To qualify for the outside sales employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

The employee’s primary duty must be making sales (as defined in the FLSA); and
The employee must be customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer’s place or places of business.

The pharmaceutical industry is chock full of sales representatives whose job it is to go to doctors’ offices and convince physicians to place orders with drug makers. However, these sales reps never actually transfer title to the drugs. That is illegal in the drug industry.

So then, the question is, do these sales reps qualify for the FLSA’s outside sales exemption? Well, funny you should ask, because that’s what the Supreme Court decided yesterday (here). Details after the jump…

* * *

HELP WANTED: Born-again Christians need only apply

June 18, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’m a firm believer that discussing religion (or politics) at work is a recipe for disaster. On this blog; however, if it’s employment-related, then that’s how we roll…

And, after the jump, we roll into Oklahoma and discuss whether it’s ok for a lighting company to require that it’s employees be born-again Christians. (Hint: It’s not ok).

(If you’d rather read about the Oklahoma City Thunder and the NBA Finals, I understand).

* * *

Your state’s family-leave benefits probably suck!

June 15, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

That according to a a new survey from The National Partnership for Women & Families.

The survey compared how state-based rights and protections compare to the 12 weeks of leave for new and expecting parents provided by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the protections provided by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and the right to express breast milk at work provided to some nursing mothers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The report card covers all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. No state earned an A. Only 1/3 scored a C- or higher, while more than 1/3 flat-out failed. The highest grades went to California and Connecticut, each earning an A-. Locally, New Jersey ranked near the top with a B+, while Pennsylvania scraped by with a D.

Fact or Fiction: Disabilities under the ADAAA cannot be episodic

June 14, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.”

So, let’s get right to it. In Pearce-Mato v. Shinseki, decided earlier this week, a Pennsylvania federal court reminded us that episodic impairments may, indeed, be disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act:

The fact that the periods during which an episodic impairment is active and substantially limits a major life activity may be brief or occur infrequently is no longer relevant to determining whether the impairment substantially limits a major life activity … An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.