I’ve been searching for gold recently. So, I knew I was on to something good when I started reading this opinion last week, and wasn’t sure whether what I was reading was a sexual harassment case or a porno script. What can I say? I like the plots. Folks, if…
The Employer Handbook Blog
House passes bill permitting employees to swap OT for comp time
On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 223-204 to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to permit employers to provide compensatory time off in lieu of monetary compensation for overtime hours worked. Presently, through the Federal Employees Flexible and…
Appeals Court: NLRB union-rights poster violates free-speech rights
On Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled here that the National Labor Relations Board cannot require private employers — union and non-union — to hang this poster in a conspicuous location in the workplace. Billed by the Board as a notice advising employees of their rights under the…
NJ Gov. Christie vetoes proposed workplace social media law
You see, employment-law dorks like me use tools like these to monitor the status of pending employment-law-related bills. And, yesterday, I got a hit informing me that, on Monday, Governor Christie conditionally vetoed this proposed NJ bill, which would prohibit employers from requiring employees and candidates for disclosing online usernames…
Fact or Fiction: It’s ok to fire an employee for pro-union Facebook posts to NON-employees
That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.” I’ll set it up for you: You run a non-union company called RH Chili Peppers. However, one of your employees,…
“At your age, David, you hadn’t even thought about retiring?”
What could go wrong when the boss’s son asks that question of, David, a nearly-40-year employee? Oh, right, David got laid off a week later. Age discrimination? Well, let’s see… We know that when an employer inquires about an employee’s retirement plans — without bringing up age — it should…
A record-setting EEOC verdict, and a judge puns about strip clubs
You’re thinking I should have led with the strip club, eh? On Wednesday, an Iowa jury awarded $240,000,000 to a group of 32 men with intellectual disabilities, whom it found had been discriminated against in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to this EEOC press release, the verdict…
Wooooo pig sooie! Arkansas gets a workplace social media privacy law
I don’t know much about Arkansas. My knowledge consists of Gennifer Flowers, Wal-Mart, and this handy-dandy iPhone app for harvesting deer. I also hear that the official state beverage is milk. How about that? But now I know one more thing: Arkansas has a new social media privacy law, which…
Third Circuit says VIPs cannot sue for Title VII discrimination
Robert Mariotti was the vice-president and secretary of the company his father founded. Not only was he a corporate officer, but Mariotti also served as a member of the board of directors, and was a shareholder who could only be fired for cause. In 1995, Mariotti had a spiritual awakening,…
GUEST POST: How To Deal With Workplace Bullying As An Employer
Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s Pam Johnson. Pam is an HR professional who obtained her degree from what she tells me is one of the Top 10 Best Online Masters in HR Degree Programs. (Want to guest blog at The Employer Handbook? Email me).…