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The Employer Handbook BlogU.S. Department of Labor slims down and gets more user friendly. Too creepy?
Let’s start over with a less awkward headline.
Ok, here goes…
Continue reading
Four ways to avoid wage and hour worries when employees work remotely
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Hopefully, you know by now that you should be tracking the time of non-exempt employees working remotely during this pandemic. If this is news to you, well…
But, have you figured out an excellent way to track hours that an employee works, even though s/he isn’t scheduled to work those hours? Continue reading
1,250,000 reasons to take all complaints of race discrimination seriously
Two black employees complain to a supervisor that a white co-worker is taunting them with racial pejoratives.
What do you do? Continue reading
Can a business legally require face masks in the workplace? Would sarcasm change the answer?
Image by Hatice EROL from Pixabay
Let’s find out… Continue reading
Court: Free speech may protect city employee’s Facebook post about wanting to kill Tamir Rice
Image Credit: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net License: CC0 Public Domain
I’ve said many times before on this blog that employees always have the right to freedom of speech — even on social media. But, words have consequences. And no law guarantees the right to continued employment.
But, there are limited exceptions to that rule. I’ll address one of them with you today. Continue reading
An indefinite leave of absence may be an ADA reasonable accommodation. Wait, WHAT?!?
Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay
As employment lawyers, we counsel clients that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to requests for reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Indeed, they are very fact-specific. Although, there is one fundamental immutable truth; namely, a request for an indefinite leave of absence is never reasonable under the ADA.
Or so, I thought. Continue reading
The National Labor Relations Board ain’t got nothin’ on NJ when it comes to COVID-19 whistleblowers
Image Credit EpicTop10.com (Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC By 2.0))
If, during this pandemic, you do business in a state with a robust whistleblower law, keep reading.
COVID-19 doesn’t prevent claims of sexual harassment. Just ask a certain hockey mascot. 🏒🦁
We’re in the middle of a pandemic. While telework and ‘social distancing’ don’t eliminate the possibility of a sexual harassment claim, let’s face it, we’re not exactly in the same #MeToo world as we were last year. But that doesn’t mean that businesses can take sexual harassment any less seriously.
Because you never know when an incident may arise. Like maybe…
It’s a mini COVID-19 Q and A! (Before I see y’all on Zoom today at Noon EDT.)
Before we see what’s in the mailbag, here’s your final reminder to register (here) for today’s free Zoom session at Noon EDT today with me and some of my friends from the EEOC. We’re going to be talking mediation, pro-tips, and the new pilot program. Continue reading
An internal DOL audit reveals the three ways in which COVID-19 has hampered the agency
Image by Лечение наркомании from Pixabay
Let’s give credit where credit is due. When Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division had the unenviable task of creating and implementing supporting guidance, enforcing the law, and tending to all of its other responsibilities. All during a COVID-19 pandemic.
It wasn’t going to be perfect. Continue reading