The Employer Handbook Blog

Respect.

***pops open can of Haterade*** A local Philadelphia-area school district employed a teacher/union advocate for about 10 years until it ended his employment on the grounds that he was creating a hostile work environment for his fellow teachers and making lewd and suggestive statements to students. Given that this is…

noogie || noun noog·ie \ ˈnu̇-gē \ According to Merriam Webster, a “noogie” is the act of rubbing one’s knuckles on a person’s head so as to produce a mildly painful sensation. But, could a noogie be considered an act of retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? (Hey,…

Yep, Harry Potter. On Friday, the Third Circuit of Appeals issued a precedential Fair Labor Standards Act opinion. The issue was whether the FLSA requires employers to compensate employees for breaks of 20 minutes or less after they log off their computers and are free from any work duties. I…

Or, as the kids say, it’s scary AF! If, like me, your mind is now blown, fear not. I’ve got some soothing HR compliance coming at you. Wait for it…

The Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas, beat me to it. On Tuesday, Suzanne wrote here about a volunteer firefighter, who is white. And that white firefighter brought a watermelon to the fire station as a gift for his co-workers. According to this Fox 2 report, 90 percent of his co-workers are…

Humility is not my middle name. Actually, it’s “Hercules.” (It’s not Hercules). But, it’s not “Humility” either and I rarely turn down the opportunity to say, “I told you so.” So, remember when I told you a few weeks ago how NFL owners would have a tough time legally firing…

ESPN pays the National Football League nearly $2 billion annual for digital rights. Two billion dollars! With so much at stake, that’s an investment worth protecting. A few years ago, former ESPN personality Bill Simmons found that out the hard way. He was suspended by the network for his incendiary…

Over the weekend, I was reading this recent opinion from a federal judge in Maryland and, with a big smile on my face, I started polishing up my blogging crown and scepter. Allen v. TV One, LLC is a case about a woman who alleges that she was constantly pestered by the Board…

Back in July of this year, the U.S. Department of Justice officially revealed its position that nothing would prevent an employer from discriminating against a gay worker before of his sexual orientation. On that very same day, President Donald Trump tweeted that the military should ban transgender people from serving. Fast…