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Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s Shannon Dorvall. Shannon is a practicing Los Angeles criminal attorney. She is a graduate of the University of Montana law school, and has argued cases in front of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. When she isn’t writing about law or actually practicing it, Shannon enjoys perfecting her cooking and catching up with a good book

(Want to guest blog at The Employer Handbook? Email me).

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Bedroom MitchamDuh, right?

Still, a federal appellate court recently reminded us (here) that, indeed, bad things happen when, every week for several months, a male supervisor tells his female subordinate that her husband is “not taking care of [her] in bed.”

Though not threatening, they were more than merely offensive. For a male to say to a female employee under his supervision that her husband was “not taking care of [her] in bed” is the sort of remark that can readily be found to be a solicitation for sexual relations coupled with a claim of sexual prowess and can just as readily be found to have been perceived as such by the female employee. The weekly repetition of such a remark over several weeks only served to reenforce its offensive meaning and to make sexual intimidation, ridicule, and insult a pervasive part of Desardouin’s workplace, effectively changing the terms and conditions of her employment….The allegations of repeated solicitation of sexual relations in a vulgar and humiliating manner suffice to warrant a trial.

yahoologo.jpgOver the weekend, I read this article from Kara Swisher on AllThingsD.com, in which she reports that Yahoo!, under its new leadership, will implement a no-telecommuting rule, effective June 1.

Ms. Swisher posted a copy of the internal Yahoo! memorandum to its employees, in which the company underscores the “critical” need to be at the office versus working form home where “speed and quality are often compromised.”

Sounds good in theory. But I have a little monkey-wrench.

drivethru.jpg

Have you checked out DriveThruHR yet?

DriveThruHR is the baby of Bryan Wempen and William Tincup, a half-hour radio show on which these two HR leaders, along with a guest, discuss the latest trends, thoughts and sentiment within the industry.

Yesterday, I was on DriveThruHR, Human Resource’s #1 Daily Radio, talking social media and the workplace, Americans with Disabilities Act, hockey, and gettin’ freaky with the mashed potatoes. Yeah, that’s right. Hockey. 

Korrektionsschutzbrille FrontansichtWith a title like that, this post could only arouse the interest of an employment lawyer. 

But, all of y’all should pay attention.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the period of time during which a covered employee must be paid begins when the worker engages in a principal activity. Putting on and taking off (or, in legalese, “donning and doffing”) protective clothing is considered a principal activity. However, the FLSA expressly provides that employees don’t get paid for time spent “changing clothes” if a union contract says so.

Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s my colleague, Katharine Hartman. Katharine is an associate in Dilworth Paxson’s Labor & Employment Group, but also asked that I give a little shoutout to our new Test Publishing, Certification and Licensure Group.

So holla!

After the jump is a little cross-over between the two. Hope you like it.

(Want to guest blog at The Employer Handbook? Email me).

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Facebook firings have been so en vogue recently. See, Exhibits A, B, and C.

But, let’s not forget that there are many other social-media platforms off of which employees can belly-flop into the unemployment pool.

{That image seemed somehow less harsh in my head. Now that I see it on screen. Oh well…}

“Doing What’s Right – Not Just What’s Legal”
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