Image Credit: photofunia.com Here’s a reminder from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for employers to think twice about setting a deadline on an employee’s accommodation request. For example, last week the EEOC announced that it had settled a religious accommodation lawsuit against a North Carolina hospital. According to the…
The Employer Handbook Blog
What does it take to be individually liable for discrimination? A lot.
Image Credit: Photofunia.com Most discrimination lawsuits involve a single, individual plaintiff and, on the other side of the “v,” a company as the sole defendant. But, sometimes, that plaintiff will name additional individual defendants too, such as a manager, supervisor, or even someone from Human Resources. When that happens, what…
Dear Handbook: Is it cool if I spray air fresheners to mask my co-worker’s obnoxious chronic body odor?
Image Credit: Photofunia.com For Amber Bridges, a former City of Indianapolis employee, it allegedly got her fired. But, that didn’t stop her from filing an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Spraying air fresheners around a co-worker with body odor seems a bit passive-aggressive.” “What…
Dude, where’s my car?
Image Credit: Photofunia.com The title of this blog post is somewhat misleading. Yes, this post combines cars and employment law. But, more than anything, it was just an excuse to use this cool image, play The Cars – a song called “Drive,” no less – and say, “Dude, where’s my…
The Trump DOL just unearthed a bunch of employer-friendly Bush-era Opinion Letters.
Image Credit: Photofunia.com Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor did more for employers than just revamp its internship test. It re-issued a slew of opinion letters to help employers with sticky wage-and-hour issues. I’ve highlighted a few of the more notable ones below. [Fair warning: We get kinda wonky by…
Lawsuit: Google discriminates against male, white, and conservative employees.
Image Credit: Photofunia.com Remember that male Google software engineer who got fired last year after posting a 3,300-word criticism of Google’s diversity policies on the company’s internal website. If you don’t check this out. Well, guess what? Dude just filed this class-action lawsuit against Google. Among other things, he and the other…
DOL buries its 6-factor internship test 6 feet under
Image Credit: Photofunia.com On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced here that it was changing its test for whether a company needs to pay its interns. Well, let’s take a step back. The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law that requires covered employers to pay non-exempt employees at…
What might changes to sexual-harassment laws look like?
Image Credit: Pixabay.com The heck are you asking me for? Oh, right. The whole employment lawyer thing. ***cracks knuckles; adjusts sash*** Let’s do this… I’m going to skip the whole “unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months” schtick and fast forward to this past Tuesday. It…
I love the smell of Sour Patch Kids and the False Claims Act
You know, I don’t think we’ve ever discussed the False Claims Act here at The Employer Handbook. I don’t think we’ve discussed crowded clown cars either. And, while clowns may pique more interest, alas, this is an employment-law blog. So, I suppose we’ll enjoy our first taste of FCA together.…
New Jersey just strengthened its ban the box rules
Back in August 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed “The Opportunity to Compete Act”, also known as Ban the Box. This made it unlawful for companies with 15 or more employees to advertise that people with criminal records need to apply. Covered companies also cannot inquire about criminal history, from the…