The Employer Handbook

• newIt’s not a good look when the EEOC accuses your company of “an ugly mix of sexism, racism, and xenophobia”
  By Missatikamekw [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia CommonsI wouldn’t quite know how to describe the feeling if that were the moniker placed on my business. So, I’ll just go with the opposite of this. In stark contrast to the close call that was the…
  - 19 hours ago, 20 Sep 18, 10:30am -
• newDid he intend to flash a white power symbol on live television? Either way, it’s not okay.
  Image Credit: YouTube.com Last Friday afternoon, MSNBC aired a live report of the Coast Guard’s response efforts during Tropical Storm Florence. And, within minutes, Twitter exploded in a different kind of storm over a hand gesture. White Power? O…
  - 2 days ago, 19 Sep 18, 10:30am -
• newVontae Davis’s hecka-crazy NFL retirement makes you wonder how prepared your business is.
  Chris J. Nelson [CC BY 3.0 ], from Wikimedia CommonsThere are planned retirements. There are unexpected retirements. And, then — hold my drink — there’s Vontae Davis’s retirement. “Never heard of it. Never seen it.” Vontae Davis played t…
  - 3 days ago, 18 Sep 18, 10:30am -

Ohio Employer's Law Blog

• NBC News takes the unprecedented step to release its internal Matt Lauer harassment report
  Image by Max Goldberg via Wiki CommonsYesterday morning, NBC News released the complete report into its months long investigation of Matt Lauer.I was astounded by NBC’s transparency. It is extraordinarily rare for a private company…
  - 10 May 18, 11:21am -
• Sympathetic does not always equal protected under the ADA
  Photo by Pexels on PixabayToday’s opinion is a lesson straight out of the school of hard knocks. No matter how sympathetic the plaintiff or how harrowing his plights, the law is the law and sometimes it’s just not on his side.When…
  - 9 May 18, 11:34am -
• Should employers still test for marijuana?
  Photo by Michael Fischer from PexelsOhio’s medical marijuana program is set to be fully operational by September 2018. Ohio will join 28 other states, and the District of Columbia, in which doctors can legally prescribe marijuana to treat c…
  - 8 May 18, 11:49am -

The Employer's Lawyer

• When Rhetoric Comes to Town
  By now, if you haven’t heard about Donald Trump’s statements on Muslims and his plan to prevent Muslims from entering the country, as well as the vehement support he is receiving from an astonishing number of people, you may be living under a roc…
  - 9 Dec 15, 7:44pm -
• Beware the FMLA Equitable Estoppel Claim
  Imagine that your company has 40 employees, one of whom is subject to hospitalization for a medical condition and requires surgery. He is out of work for several weeks and in his absence, the company realizes that it gets along fine without him. As a…
  - 10 Nov 15, 2:23pm -
• Don’t Bet on the Jury Verdict
  As some of those who follow me on Twitter know, I had jury duty in September. Like most people, it wasn’t something I was looking forward to (and I even tried to get out of it on the basis that no one would pick a lawyer for a jury). Well, it turn…
  - 5 Nov 15, 2:55pm -

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

• Compliance Issues for Restaurants with Credit Card Fees, Tips to Waitstaff and Tip Pooling
  Trying to follow both state and federal wage and hour laws isn’t that hard. But it isn’t that easy either. Let’s say you’re a restaurant with a waitstaff.  Like most restaurants nowadays, your customers pay by credit card and you, the employ…
  - 22 days ago, 30 Aug 18, 12:42pm -
• Religious Institutions Do Not Get Immunity from State Anti-Discrimination Laws
  On “Survivor”, one of my favorite broadcast TV shows (or, as my YouTube/Netflix watching teens might say — “what’s that?”) the notion of “immunity” plays a central role in the outcome of an episode. And in a decision released last wee…
  - 39 days ago, 13 Aug 18, 1:23pm -
• How Employers Can Further Their Commitment to Justice
  Like a lot of people, I’ve got the summer bug and, given the choice between a walk outside and a blog post — well, you can figure out what has been winning. But I’ve got a few posts lined back up the next few weeks.  In the interim, I want to…
  - 44 days ago, 8 Aug 18, 2:57pm -

FMLA Insights

• Pregnant Woman Fired by Text Message: "Sorry . . . But It's Not Going to Work Out"
  File this in the “Managers really can be idiots” folder. Kameisha applied for a job at Jersey Mike’s Subs (which by the way, makes an incredible #13 Original Italian sub). At the time she interviewed for a position, Kameisha was four months pre…
  - 15 days ago, 6 Sep 18, 1:13pm -
• BREAKING: Get Your New FMLA Forms from the DOL Here!
  Those sneaky little rascals! While the rest of us were enjoying our Labor Day holiday, those crazy kids over at the Department of Labor were still working away. Bless their little hearts! This time, they were busy posting new model FMLA notices and m…
  - 17 days ago, 4 Sep 18, 12:55pm -
• Drafting a Parental Leave Policy? Learn from the Estée Lauder Story or You'll Risk Smelling Stinky
  Parental leave policies are on the rise. Maternity. Paternity. Caregiver. You name it. I am drafting more of these policies than ever before. So, you can imagine my interest when, last year, the EEOC sued skin care/fragrance behemoth Estée Lauder, c…
  - 46 days ago, 6 Aug 18, 8:51am -

Labor Relations Today

• Pregnant Woman Fired by Text Message: "Sorry . . . But It's Not Going to Work Out"
  File this in the “Managers really can be idiots” folder. Kameisha applied for a job at Jersey Mike’s Subs (which by the way, makes an incredible #13 Original Italian sub). At the time she interviewed for a position, Kameisha was four months pre…
  - 15 days ago, 6 Sep 18, 1:13pm -
• BREAKING: Get Your New FMLA Forms from the DOL Here!
  Those sneaky little rascals! While the rest of us were enjoying our Labor Day holiday, those crazy kids over at the Department of Labor were still working away. Bless their little hearts! This time, they were busy posting new model FMLA notices and m…
  - 17 days ago, 4 Sep 18, 12:55pm -
• Drafting a Parental Leave Policy? Learn from the Estée Lauder Story or You'll Risk Smelling Stinky
  Parental leave policies are on the rise. Maternity. Paternity. Caregiver. You name it. I am drafting more of these policies than ever before. So, you can imagine my interest when, last year, the EEOC sued skin care/fragrance behemoth Estée Lauder, c…
  - 46 days ago, 6 Aug 18, 8:51am -

Employment and Labor Insider

Delaware Employment Blog

Lawffice Space

• newNLRB Proposes Rule for Joint-Employment
  Not official use.Sometimes, two distinct entities share a relationship with the same workers. For example, when you walk into a fast food place - those workers are most likely employed by the local franchise, not the big national fast food corporatio…
  - 3 days ago, 18 Sep 18, 12:49pm -
• PHRC: Pennsylvania law prohibits sexual orientation discrimination
  Here in Pennsylvania, we have a workplace anti-discrimination law called the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA). It's a lot like the federal laws (Title VII, ADA, ADEA). One notable distinction is that the PHRA applies to employers with 4 or mor…
  - 32 days ago, 20 Aug 18, 12:17pm -
• Third Circuit on Sexual Harassment Affirmative Defense (and #MeToo)
  The Third Circuit recently issued a fascinating sexual harassment opinion in Minarsky v. Susquehana County (opinion here) - Eric Meyer calls it "the most important employment law decision of 2018. In some ways, the case is unremarkable. The Court is…
  - 64 days ago, 19 Jul 18, 1:10pm -

Employment Law Navigator

• Thanks, and so long…
  After 3 great years, the Employment Law Navigator is coming to an end. We’ve had fun, and we hope our posts have been helpful. Our sincere thanks to our contributors and to Zelle’s superb Marketing Director Dan Gruber, who picked our art, caug…
  - 28 Jul 17, 6:38pm -
• That is SO last week
  Last week, HR Dive reported on a Washington federal court’s June order requiring that a public employer pay $1.8 million to a terminated employee.  The worker was fired when she failed a drug test due to her lawful use of prescription drugs, test…
  - 24 Jul 17, 7:29pm -
• That Critical First Response to Harassment Complaints: Stage 2
  Last week, we wroteabout the importance of “first responders” who receive complaints of workplace harassment, and provided tips on how they should prepare for and react to complaints.  This week, we continue to focus on the early stages of the c…
  - 20 Jul 17, 5:43pm -