With the National Hockey League season in jeopardy, I imagine that Canadians are a fairly ornery bunch these days. Even further north, hockey fans too are in turmoil. Reports from the North Pole have Mrs. Claus moping around. Morale amongst Santa’s helpers is at an all-time low, causing toy production…
The Employer Handbook Blog
HR testifies that employee firing was FMLA retaliation (you read that right)
Better settle the case, right? Not if you’re Flannery Oaks Guest House. Instead, you move for summary judgment and try to get your former employee’s FMLA retaliation claim dismissed. Was Andy Reid or Norv Turner calling that play? How do you think it worked out for ole Flannery Oaks? (Hint:…
HR’S 2012 performance review #nextchat
Yesterday, I spent a fun hour hanging out on Twitter with the folks from SHRM’s We Know Next discussing 2012’s HR victories and, then, what lies ahead for you good folks in 2013. A big thank you to SHRM and to those who were able to join us and participate.…
I can’t believe you missed these workplace blockbusters, you guys!
Translation: Recent HR / employment law developments that Meyer missed a/k/a Meyer needs to clear out his folder of bookmarked employment-law items to make room for his dork dorkier Fantasy Baseball bookmarks. Pitchers and catchers report in just over two months. More courts weigh in on social-media discovery issues. “Good news.…
EEOC: Bar claimed males like their Sunday servers sans embryo
*** Googles “sans,” wipes brow while sighing in relief *** I’m not aware of any studies or surveys that the Sandbar Mexican Grill conducted on this subject. Instead, I imagine something like this: Sandbar Customer: “Two please.”Sandbar Manager: “Sure. But before I seat you, do you see that bartender over there?…
“Younger people are the future” comment creates age-bias claim
Hey Employers! Want to guarantee yourself a jury trial in an age-discrimination case? Just mention the word “younger” to any employee age forty or above right around the time you fire him. [Editor’s Note: Calling that employee an “old man,” “old fart,” “pops,” and “grandpa” will also do the trick…
Boy meets girl, dates girl, breaks up, calls girl “whore,” gets fired, sues for discrimination
Image credit: atom.smasher.org, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. When a male employee texted his female co-worker and former girlfriend that she was a “whore” and later ignored two protective orders that the female co-worker had taken out against him, I wonder if he was thinking, “Maybe,…
Christian employee + Ramadan bagel party = hostile work environment?
Yep, someone — represented by a licensed, practicing attorney — brought this lawsuit. ***Shakes head // Smiles // Kisses statuette of Blogga-Blogga, the goddess of HR blogging fodder. Love you, boo.*** Bagel party — whoop! whoop! — after the jump… * * * Mo bagels, mo problems. Let’s take you…
That’s what he said: SCOTUS hears argument on who is a “supervisor”
Maetta Vance, the only African-American working in her department at Ball State University, claimed that she was subjected to both race discrimination and retaliation. Vance later sued and lost because she could not establish employer liability, which, in turn, depended on whether the alleged harassment was perpetrated by supervisors or…
The most blunt same-sex sexual harassment judicial opinion…evah!
So captivating that, at 35 pages long, it held my attention for 24 of them. Winning! I’ll whet your whistle with the opening paragraph of EEOC v. The McPherson Cos., Inc.: This Title VII case revolves around repeated churlish, childish, gross, sordid, vulgar, foul, disgusting, profane utterances in the workplace.…