A few years ago, I posed the question: Is a workplace “English-only” rule legal? Yadda, yadda, yadda, sometimes. That is, in this Compliance Manual, the EEOC confirms that employers may adopt English-only rules under certain circumstances, insofar as it is adopted for nondiscriminatory reasons (e.g., safety, business necessity) and not to discriminate…
This “invasion of privacy” question is the lynchpin of a new lawsuit from two former employees of one of the largest beer companies in the world. The complaint (available here), which began in state court, has been removed to federal court in New Jersey. David Gialanella, reporting for the New Jersey…
I’ve gotta hand it to the company in this recent federal appellate court opinion. The company almost — soooooo close — avoided several claims for unpaid overtime. Let me set the stage for you. So, there I was wearing nothing but feathers and a coy smile. Back in 2011, the U.S. Department…
Got a busted bracket in your HR Department’s NCAA Men’s Tournament bracket pool? Oh, riiiiiiiiiight. What bracket pool? I must be talking about that other company, the one with low-flow poop-stained toilets and the non-conforming employee handbook. #realtalk Well, according to this CareerBuilder.com survey, 1 in 7 US workers planned to fill out a…
Before I get to a 1752-word blog post about the National Labor Relations Board going wee-wee all over your workplace Cheerios with this March 18 report from General Counsel Griffin, replete with examples of how your employee handbook is overly broad and violates the National Labor Relations Act, let me do two…
Well, I think we can all agree that, when an employee’s protected class motivates a company to transfer him to a less desirable position, it’s time to call the lawyers and break out the checkbook. But, what makes a transfer position less desirable? Yesterday, I was reading this Sixth Circuit opinion about a…
And the Czech judge scored my lede a 4.3. Well, the second she starts paying my legal bills, maybe, I’ll give a damn. Until then… What was I talking about? Oh yes, religious discrimination. Over the weekend, I read this PA federal court opinion about an atheist who claimed that his…
So…how many of you slept well after last night’s The Walking Dead? Don’t worry, no spoilers here. Instead, what I do have is this link to a great post from my blogging buddy, Sharlyn Lauby a/k/a the HR Bartender. With a little help from this dude, Sharlyn’s post hits on,…
So did you hear the one about the prison guard who, for four years, didn’t tell his employer about his other job? The one where he served as a biker gang “enforcer.” And his biker gang nickname? Hit Man. The biker gang enforcer, who was also guarding prisoners, was known…
I’m a bit late to the party with this one. But, for those who haven’t read about it elsewhere. Voila! The plaintiff originally taught at the high school, during which she informed her employer about her pedophobia, a debilitating fear of young children. Some time later, the plaintiff was transferred to…