I didn’t mean to startle some of you yesterday. In yesterday’s post, I teased that we would rank the Thanksgiving foods today. But in doing so, I linked to last year’s survey, which is closed. Sorry about that. For those new to the blog, each year before Thanksgiving, readers get…
The Employer Handbook Blog
An employer cannot rely on a contract to discriminate
Earlier this month, an employer learned the hard way that it could not rely on a contract provision to greenlight discrimination. For several years, a school district limited the annual earnings increases of teachers over age 45 to avoid a pension-contribution surcharge. Why? Because its collective bargaining agreement with the…
POLL RESULTS (sort of): Only about half of employers still have COVID-19 policies
Although the vast majority of businesses implemented a written COVID-19 policy at one time or another, many have eliminated or stopped updating those policies. That’s what I learned from a poll I posted on Friday using SurveyMonkey, to which 227 people responded. However, in full disclosure, I didn’t realize at…
POLL: Does your business have a COVID-19 policy?
The other day, a partner asked me about COVID-19 policies and how clients may still implement them. Candidly, it wasn’t something I’d thought about for a while. Heck, I had to dust one off to remember all of the minutiae about vaccines, CDC guidelines, etc. There are a few states…
They don’t call it FMLA interference for nothing
In my day, televisions had antennas, which you had to position just right to watch one of three channels, and I’m turning into my parents. Let’s talk about Family and Medical Leave Act interference instead. Last night, I read an Eleventh Circuit decision about an employee who had taken FMLA…
281,870 reasons not to attempt a kickback scheme to avoid paying overtime
It’s not often that I attempt to locate images for blog posts using ‘kickback’ as a search term. But when I do, rest assured that some employer really stepped in it. Last year, I wrote about a home healthcare agency that allegedly retaliated against employees for cooperating with a U.S. Department…
A Tennessee man who claims he was fired from his job over tweets made in California can sue that person in Tennessee
I want to thank my co-presenters, Amy Epstein Gluck, Jonathan Segal, Gregory Slotnick, and everyone who attended the Zoom on Friday, November 10, 2023, when we discussed antisemitism and the workplace. We recorded it, and you can view it here on YouTube. One of the topics we covered was employees getting…
Today, at Noon ET, join us for “Antisemitism and the Workplace” on Zoom. It’s free to attend.
There is still time to register to join me, Amy Epstein Gluck, Jonathan Segal, and Gregory Slotnick at Noon ET today to discuss antisemitism and the workplace. Here are some of the more specific topics we intend to cover. What is (and isn’t) antisemitism? Regardless of your religion, how employees can act…
The “E” in injunction stands for “evidence.” (Who’s gonna tell him there’s no…)
Ready. Fire. Aim. That’s often the approach companies take when they learn that a former employee with restrictive covenants like a noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreement has gone to work for a direct competitor. Many rush into court demanding that a judge enter a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction…
This recent federal court decision makes me further question the utility of drug testing for most positions.
Let’s see if you agree with me. The defendant operated a hotel and event venue. The plaintiff had an opioid addiction and had been prescribed methadone to treat her addiction. She took methadone daily. In 2021, the plaintiff applied for the position of banquet bartender with the defendant. The plaintiff…