Below are summaries of four pieces of legislation of which employers should take note: Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. Senator Tom Harkin (IA-D) introduced this bill last week. It would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. and lower the burden of…
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…
Humblebrag alert. Reporters call me all the time. It’s a wonder that I can get any work done. Why, just last week, I was speaking to a reporter about an action recently initiated by current and former employees of the FDA, alleging that the agency unlawfully monitored their private emails.…
If you read this blog, then I trust you read other HR/Employment-law-related blogs. And, if you do that, prepare for a December-deluge of “Ten Tips for a Safe, Fun, and Legal Holiday Party.” Screw all that! Ten tips is so last year. *** Big dork say “what” *** “What! What!”…
This Jerry Sandusky situation is blood curdling. I won’t rehash the facts. But in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, you can read about them here. I am not going to comment on Penn State’s moral compass. Rather, as a labor-and-employment-law attorney, I see…
On June 29, The Employer Handbook reported here that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter vetoed the “Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces” bill. This bill would have required businesses to provide paid sick leave to employees who work a minimum number of hours in Philadelphia County. Ah, but the times, they are…
Raise your hand if your east-coast business was prepared for yesterday’s earthquake. After the jump, I’ll tell you why you may not have been ready and offer your business 16 ways to prepare for when the next disaster strikes. * * * “Inertia towards normalcy” Last week, my law…
Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY14] is at it again. A sponsor of a bill that would greatly expand the scope and reach of the FMLA, Rep. Maloney has co-sponsored another bill, the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011, which would amend both the Fair Labor Standards Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Job candidate is told that any job offer is contingent upon passing a drug test. On d-day, job candidate bolts from the drug-testing facility, claiming that he has trouble in confined spaces. No drug test means that job candidate is disqualified from…
In most states, absent a contract of employment, an employee is considered at-will (i.e., he or she can be fired for any reason or no reason at all). Many employers reinforce — in very prominent locations in employee handbooks — that their employees are at-will. What happens, however, when an…