Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

Sex on the beach becomes a sexual harassment lawsuit.

December 22, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Actually, I’m not talking about the drink.

No, the case I’m addressing today has actual sex on the beach. And allegations of sexual harassment and disparate treatment.

It involves an outside sales representative — let’s call her “Plaintiff” — and the son of the company President, during a boat trip in Mallorca, Spain.

Hey, if you ever want to hear some good stories at a lawyer cocktail party, seek out the employment folks. Just sayin’.

A little holiday present for my readers

December 21, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Blogger Claus — that’s me, I’m the non-denominational, workplace-friendly Blogger Claus — wants to reward his good readers with some holiday cheer.

(The bad readers get two EEOC Charges and will be fed to Krampus).

Woman fired for refusing to process same-sex marriage licenses loses her own bias claim

December 20, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’ll go ahead and file this one under “Wa Wa Waaah!”

The EEOC hooks you up with a new ADA resource on mental health conditions

December 15, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

I know y’all are waiting with baited breath — wait, hold do you bait breath? Like a putting a worm on a fishing line or something?

***Googles***

Right, as I was saying, I know y’all are waiting with bated breath for me to publish all of those reader-submitted holiday-party “yowzas” I asked you to email me yesterday. But, let’s give that one more day to marinate — build the suspense.

(You can still get in the on the party. Just read yesterday’s post and holler at your boy).

Oh, do tell. Share with me your most cringeworthy holiday party HR story!

December 14, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Inspired by a quality discussion in my Facebook feed today, I’m thinking that some of you HR-compliance geeks probably have some good holiday party stories to share with me.

That’s right, for once, I’m going to live vicariously through you.

Pretty soon, asking salary-history questions in Philly will get you sued.

December 13, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Like requesting swiss cheese on your cheesesteak — way to go John Kerry — pretty soon, asking about a candidate’s salary history will be verboten too.

File the “blue collar workplace” defense to a hostile work environment in the trash can

December 6, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

When defending against a woman’s sexual harassment claim, I’ve found that “she was asking for it” is generally a bad defense. So bad, in fact, that you may just want to whip out the old checkbook instead.

Another crappy one, apparently, is trying to convince a judge that an industrial workplace setting is carte blanche to knuckle drag and generally act like pigs.

Also known as the “blue collar” defense.

Swastika cupcakes?!?

December 1, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, I read this story from David Moye on Huffington Post about a young Jewish girl’s birthday party at which the guests — friends of the birthday girl — were allowed to frost cupcakes. Well, it seems that two of the party guests decided that it would be funny to frost a chocolate swastika into their cupcakes and upload photos to Snapchat.

The mortified mother of the birthday girl called it a “teachable moment” about the horrors of the Holocaust, which, ironically, the swastika frosters had just learned about in school.

So, what does this have to do with your workplace?

Bad things often happen when employees feel they have to resort to self-help

November 30, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Like one-man bands.

Or, retaliation lawsuits, for example.

Bank VP’s Facebook rant that Trump can “buy” and “sell” the Obamas didn’t end well, you guys.

November 29, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

The good news for this employee is that her viral Facebook post earned her an award.

The bad news is that the “award” was “Racist of the Week.”

The ugly news — well, other than the post itself — was that the employee lost her job and likely impaired her ability to find similar employment anytime soon.