The Employer Handbook Blog

Can one anti-Semitic email make a tenable employee bias claim?

March 6, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

When an employee sues his former employer alleging a religiously hostile work environment, he must prove, among other things, that he was subjected to harassment based on his religion and that the harassment was either severe or pervasive.

What do you think? Is the email below from a company General Manager severe enough for ya?

Can I just say something I shouldn’t to you here — he is SUCH A JEW! In a BAD way. He’s what gives Jews a bad name. He’s smarter. He’s better. He’s owed. He will do anything to keep from opening his wallet — right down to not eating!!!! And I am DEAD serious here!!! That’s why he expenses every single thing he can because he won’t pay anything! I have not seen him bring one single thing into this office in all the time he’s been here — period. (that he paid for) IF he does bring something in he expenses it. . .I COULDN’T say to him what I just did to you — that HE is what gives Jews a bad name!!!

Let’s see what a NJ court said, after the jump…

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Up with NLRB employee-rights posters, or suffer ze consequences

March 5, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back on August 26, in this post, I gave the heads up that the National Labor Relations Board would require most private-sector employers to post this notice (a super-sized version of the one on the right), in a conspicuous location, informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, which includes the right to form a union.

And then some employer groups went to court because they don’t like NLRB posters. In response, the NLRB slowed its roll not once, but twice, delaying the postponing the posting deadline until April 30, 2012.

Now a federal court has weighed in on the posting requirement. What did it say? And will your business have to post something by April 30, 2012. Find out after the jump…

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Will states outlaw demanding online passwords from employees?

March 2, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

About a year, I wondered whether employers should ever require job applicants to divulge Facebook passwords. Ultimately, I concluded then — and still believe now — that while employers may choose to use social media as part of a background-check process, you’re playing with fire if you start asking job applicants to divulge social-media passwords to make it easier to vet them.

Two states are now taking steps to make it illegal to force job candidates to reveal online user-names and passwords. One of those states is taking it one step further…

What two states and what they doing?!? (And what’s with that creepy image on the right). Aaaaah!!!! Click through to find out…

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USERRA + ADAAA = 11 letters and many more HR issues

March 1, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thumbnail image for eeoclogo.png Quick quiz:

What protections does the ADA provide to veterans with disabilities?

When is a veteran with a service-connected disability protected by the ADA?

You can’t get Facebook login info based on a smiling profile pic

February 29, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

I got this as a Google Alert on Monday. The case is Davids v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Allow me to set the stage for you.

Plaintiff sues, claiming ongoing suffering from osteonecrosis of the jaw (if you click the link, don’t look at the picture on the right. Ewwwww)

Defendant corporation realizes that plaintiff has a Facebook account and serves a request for production of Facebook documents.

Social Media In The Workplace: Where is it Today? Tomorrow? [VIDEO]

February 28, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, I had the absolute privilege of moderating a panel on social media in the workplace at TLNT Transform in Austin, TX. Transform is for talent managers and HR leaders who are looking for cutting-edge insights and best practices from innovative and forward-thinking companies.

Three HR Rockstars, Karren Fink, Laurie Ruettimann, and Rebecca Meissner, made my job as moderator on the social-media panel a breeze. If you can get past my initial crappy lawyer joke — and that, apparently, I don’t know my right from my left — it’s worth watching. Here is a link to the video.

But, you see judge, it was only “exotic dancer” harassment…

February 27, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’ve come up with some pretty creative defenses to unlawful harassment. Usually, however, before I file a pleading, I take out my trusty ~~red pen~~ iPad and delete those arguments that are just so outrageous that I feel my client will lose credibility with the court.

But that’s just me.

After the jump, I have a recent federal-court decision in which a Maryland grocery claimed that the [alleged] relentless sexual harassment of a female employee by the store’s male manager wasn’t “sexual harassment” — that would be illegal. Rather, it was “exotic dancer” harassment.

That’s pretty creative, alright.

Oh boy…

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Want to keep your job? Don’t do this if you’re bored at work…

February 24, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Some folks — not you and me, but some folks — can watch porn at work and not get in trouble; they work in the porn industry.

When you’re an employee of the courts — a courtroom clerk, to be precise — it’s frowned upon.

Oh, you’ll never guess what happens next. Well, maybe you can. See how right you are after the jump. Fair warning, however, this is one my less tasteful posts. And that’s saying something…

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Social Media & HR: Policies and Legal Pitfalls in 140 characters

February 23, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

What were you doing yesterday between 3 and 4 PM EST?

Me? I was tweeting with the great people at SHRM’s We Know Next and several other Twitter stars, answering questions and otherwise making ~~insightful~~ ~~snarky~~ comments that sniffed insightful but were generally closer to snarky, on the topic of “Social Media and HR – Policies and Legal Pitfalls.”

If you were part of the dialogue, thank you for participating. (And muchas gracias to SHRM for inviting me to be a part of #NextChat). If you couldn’t make it, click through to see what you missed and to get a crash course in Social Media 101 for HR…

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The ADA does not force employers to provide indefinite leave

February 22, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Hey, that blog title looks familiar. Oh yeah! I wrote about it here back in October.

This time around, another federal court, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, has reaffirmed that while a “leave of absence may be a reasonable accommodation [under the Americans with Disabilities Act]”, the employee must provide a reasonable estimate of the amount work that will be missed. “Conversely, when the employee seeks leave, but it is uncertain if or when he will be able to return to work, a leave of absence is not a reasonable accommodation.”