What I’m about to share with you today will never become a Hollywood blockbuster. Actually, it’s so dull that I would sell it over the counter as a holistic sleep aid if I could bottle it. Ambien’s got nothing on wage-and-hour minutiae. Early last year, after President Biden won the…
“Oh, word?” — none of you, hopefully. The Family and Medical Leave Act states that an eligible employee “shall be entitled to a total of twelve workweeks of leave during any twelve-month period” for several qualifying reasons. When I look up the word “shall” in the dictionary, it says, “used…
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 into law. The name of the new law speaks for itself. Victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault at work that previously signed arbitration agreements can arbitrate their claims but don’t…
Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shared new guidance for employers to avoid caregiver discrimination issues for employees with caregiver responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The EEOC included a new section on caregivers/family responsibilities in its ongoing COVID-19 FAQ, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the…
For those of you with businesses in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, you can skip today’s post, and I’ll see you tomorrow. As for the rest of you, let’s talk about how to pay graveyard shift employees who…
Some of you require your employees to sign agreements requiring them to arbitrate employment claims — other than claims of sexual harassment or abuse, of course. But what happens if your employees later sign another agreement — a severance agreement, for example — that doesn’t contain an arbitration provision? One…
Perhaps you didn’t study this for your SHRM-CP Certification – or even the bar exam. So I’m here to confirm that federal judges frown on employers threatening the families of employees cooperating in a Wage and Hour Division investigation or otherwise exercising their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.…
Last night on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website, I spent some time checking out some of the latest news releases from the Wage and Hour Division. Oh, hold on one second. I need to take this call. “Yes?” “Eric, it’s ‘1996 Eric.'” “Who?” “It’s you, err, me, from like…
Suppose your company receives a complaint from an employee that one of his co-workers is voicing support for Vladimir Putin. The company investigates and validates the complaint. Can you fire the co-worker? Sure. We covered that yesterday. But that wasn’t the tricky question. Should the company fire the Putin supporter?…
Last week, I reminded employers that you can stand with Ukraine. Just remember to stand up for your Russian employees too. Many now stand with Ukraine against Vladimir Putin and his decision to invade Ukraine. But suppose an employee, Russian or otherwise, speaks out in support of Putin. Can you…