I have another HR tip related to yesterday’s blog post and accommodating employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act and what counts as an essential job function. Generally, the essential functions of the job are the ones that employees perform the most. However, there are situations where rarely-performed tasks can…
The Employer Handbook Blog
Does the ADA force employers to allow employees with medical restrictions to overrule their doctors?
If you’re in Human Resources, you’ve probably dealt with this issue before. An employee with a disability submits a doctor’s note expressly instructing the employee to avoid performing certain essential functions of their job. But the employee tells you that they can do those tasks anyway, if truly necessary. Does the Americans…
Here’s why the National Labor Relations Board get may interested in non-union Twitter’s layoffs
Sections 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (the Act) protect employees from retaliation for concerted protected activity. Protected concerted activity generally involves two or more employees discussing working conditions like pay, benefits, etc. One of the employees who lost his job at Twitter this month — a…
Did Twitter’s recent layoffs violate federal employment AND labor law?
It depends on who you ask. According to the plaintiffs and their counsel in this recently filed first amended complaint, the social media giant violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). One of the plaintiffs upped the ante with a separate unfair labor practice charge, which he…
Should an employer have provided a disabled employee with a “spitting” accommodation? A jury thought so.
This has been an interesting start to the week at The Employer Handbook, from six-year-olds slinging racial epithets to expectorating employees. But I’m here for it. And I’m glad that you are too. I’ve fielded my share of unusual disability accommodation requests. But allowing an employee with a condition caused…
A six-year-old can create a hostile work environment. Wait, what?!?
In my many years of practicing employment law, I’ve seen hostile work environment accusations leveled against owners, supervisors, co-workers, subordinates, customers, vendors, and many others. But accusing a young child of racial discrimination is a new one for me. In this case, the plaintiff alleged that she was subjected to…
Join me on Friday, 11/18/22 at Noon ET for our next Zoom Happy Hour: Leave Management Cheat Codes and Hacks
The timing last night was perfect. I just finished uploading the video from last Friday’s edition of The Employer Handbook Zoom Office Happy Hour: Cybersecurity 101 for Human Resources and Employment Lawyers to The Employer Handbook YouTube Channel, and I had shifted my attention to planning the next Zoom when…
Here we go! It’s Cybersecurity 101 for HR Professionals and Employment Lawyers at Noon ET today on Zoom
I was skeptical whether readers of this blog — mostly HR professionals and attorneys — would register for this week’s edition of The Employer Handbook Zoom Office Happy Hour about … cybersecurity?!? You proved me wrong. A few hundred of you have already signed up. And there’s still time to…
Is leave with just an “expected” return to work date still considered an ADA reasonable accommodation?
This situation comes up fairly often. An employee with a disability can’t perform their job, and needs leave to recover and return to work. We know that indefinite leave is not a reasonable accommodation. But what about taking leave with only an “expected” return to work date? Is that too…
You might have to pay employees to turn on and watch their computers boot up.
I’m hitting this technology theme hard this week. And why shouldn’t I?!? We’ve got a banger edition of The Employer Handbook Zoom Office Happy Hour set for Noon ET on Friday, November 4, 2022. Along with a team of cyber-risk, privacy, and data security attorneys from FisherBroyles, we will present Cybersecurity 101 for HR Professionals…