One of my very best readers, a true HR all-star, forwarded to me this article from Tom Jackson at the Washington Post, about a colonoscopy gone wrong. Actually, the procedure was a success. However, the patient hit record on his smartphone before the anesthesia kicked in. And what he recorded resulted in…
Just another ho-hum Wednesday here at the ol’ Handbook. Urine trouble now. So, did you hear the one about the employee who got caught urinating next to shopping carts near the front entrance of a big home improvement store? He even admitted to, and apologized for, his public urination, explaining that he…
Ok, to be fair, the Pregnancy Discrimination Amendment Act (here), isn’t exactly the most progressive piece of legislation. Kinda like putting provolone on a cheesesteak; no Cheez Whiz here. Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the PDAA yesterday to clear up the confusion arising from the Supreme Court’s opinion…
Wow! I thought I’d seen it all in the employment space in the past 72 hours with this Rachel Dolezal downward spiral (bing, bang, boom). But, this recent federal-court opinion I read last night. The one about an employee with Attention Deficit Disorder who was fired after discussing vaginal massages with…
Yesterday, the EEOC’s Select Task Force on Workplace Harassment (STF) — as opposed to this STF (sorry, I’m basically a 12-year-old trapped in a quasi-successful lawyer’s body) — held its first public meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the scope of workplace harassment and the types of research already…
Late last week, Rachel Dolezal, the President of the Spokane Chapter of the NAACP and a leader in the black community, was outed by her parents as being white. The controversy caught a lot of people by surprise, most notably, the Spokane Chapter. Amidst a flurry of activity over the weekend — just…
[cue music] Let’s say that you have an employee who suffers from anxiety and stress. The employee is very religious and her doctor encourages her to attend church on Sundays. Not only does church provide fulfill her spiritually, but it helps to lower both the stress and anxiety and significantly reduce her…
An employee was caught on video saying to black employees, “Hey, did you bring enough KFC for everyone?” and “Hey, anybody smell that? I smell fried chicken and watermelon.” The company had a strict anti-harassment policy. So, after learning about the comments, the company fired the employee. So, what would…
This can be a really difficult situation. Just ask a local Pennsylvania employer. In Brady v. United Refrigeration, Inc. (opinion here), the plaintiff suffered from heightened sensitivity to perfumes, fragrant chemicals, and lotions. After she told her employer, the company attempted a number of accommodations: Purchased a portable air cleaner for use…
Yesterday, on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision in Young v. UPS, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), brought the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act back to the Senate. The Act, which is modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act, makes it an unlawful employment practice for employers to: fail to make reasonable accommodations…