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The Employer Handbook Blog

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Facebook pics of employee boozing at a festival ruin her FMLA claim

About a year-and-a-half into Sara Jaszczyszyn’s employment with Advantage Health Physician Network (“Advantage”), she began taking intermittent FMLA leave for back pain that which she stated left her “completely incapacitated.” About five weeks into her leave, several of her coworkers saw pictures of her on Facebook consuming adult beverages at…

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Paying banana boxes of food as OT is not an a-peeling option

[brrrring brrrring] “Eric Meyer.” “Uh, yeah, Eric. I just learned that we’ve got facilities managers who have been working overtime ‘off the clock’ and….” “Off the clock, you said?” “Yeah, and instead of paying time-and-a-half—“ “Yes……” “We’ve been giving them banana boxes.” “Did you say, banana boxes?” “Yes.” “Hold please.”…

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2 tips to help your social media policy withstand NLRB scrutiny

Notwithstanding three social media advice memoranda, and another ruling from the National Labor Relations Board slamming Costco’s social media policy, you’d think employers would have a better idea how to revise their social media policies so as not to risk violating the National Labor Relations Act. Well, not so much.…

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SURVEY: When it comes to politics at work, mum’s the word

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXEglx-or6k Monty Brewster may be telling your co-workers to vote “None of the Above”, but, chances are, you have no clue who they are voting for tomorrow in the Presidential election. According to this CareerBuilder.com survey released today, although four out of five employees intend to vote on Tuesday, only…

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It’s not disability discrimination when you don’t know about the disability.

William Wengert is HIV-positive. He worked as a certified nursing assistant for Phoebe Ministries, until he was terminated last year following an incident in which a resident suffered a broken leg. The company claimed that the incident with the resident precipitated the firing. Conversely, Wengert alleged that the company violated…

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NLRB breathes new life into your “at-will” employment disclaimers

Just Google it. The National Labor Relations Board has been drawing a lot of attention for its heightened scrutiny of at-will employment disclaimers. For example, in a case involving the American Red Cross, a Board ALJ found that the American Red Cross broke the law by having an employee handbook…

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Salty about Sandy: 20 Hurricane tweets from your employees

Hurricane Sandy: Day 2 To my east-coasters, I hope this post finds you safe and dry.   Me? Hey, thanks for asking. Our Philly home kept power throughout and we otherwise made it through unscathed. Still, Philadelphia remains in a state of emergency. The City is essentially shut down. Most of…

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An HR guide to the workplace implications of Hurricane Sandy

I’m punching out this post on Sunday night, from my home in Philadelphia, before the brunt of Hurricane Sandy strikes. Like many of you, I’m locked, stocked, and ready to go, hoping that the impact is far less than is forecasted and the recovery is easy. Inevitably, however, for you…