Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

EEOC: Complaints of discrimination down big in FY14; Mediation rules!

November 19, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, the EEOC issued its FY 2014 Performance Report. Here is a link to the press release.

Now, I’ll admit it. I didn’t read the whole report. Blogging has got me all messed up. I can’t read anything that’s more than 250 words. So, I just stopped at the part in the report where it said that total charges dropped by 5,000 in FY14. So, I didn’t get to the part of the report that credits this blog, in particular, for the drop in charges. But, I assume it’s in there somewhere.

I also wanted to give a nice shout-out to the EEOC’s national mediation program, in which I participate as a pro-bono mediator. Of the 10,221 mediations conducted in FY14, 7,846 of ’em settled. Based on the math I just did in my head, that’s a success rate of 97%. Ok, 77%. But, that’s still pretty darn good. Shaq’s free throw percentage is jealous.

Train your supervisors not to shoot at those who complain about discrimination

November 14, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Just another HR Pro Tip from your old buddy, Meyer. Hey, what would you guys do without me?

Sage advice for American businesses coming up after the jump…

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In the County of Yolo, 100 hugs and a painfully awkward kiss aren’t sexual harassment #YOLO

November 13, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

What else is there to blog about after reading a federal court opinion about Yolo (You Only Live Once) and sexual harassment?

Geez. Last night, I could have peed plutonium while flaming monkeys sprang forth from my word hole, and I still would have blogged Yolo.

More on Yolo after the jump…

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Can you fire an employee who posts Nazi propaganda on Facebook?

November 12, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Maybe you’ve heard about it. I’m giving a little spiel today on social media in the workplace with a few friends at an event in Philadelphia. If I play my cards right, I’ll do as little speaking as possible on the dais.

Which means I’ll get my two cents in after the jump and discuss on a hockey coach who was recently fired for posting pictures of Nazi propaganda on Facebook.

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Sexting, flirting, but no sexual harassment here.

November 10, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

To prove sexual harassment, a plaintiff must have been subjected to pervasive or severe behavior based on the plaintiff’s sex. Further, not only would an objective person have to find the behavior offensive, but the plaintiff must be offended as well.

Usually, when a plaintiff claims sexual harassment, a court takes for granted that conduct at issue offended the plaintiff.

But, I just read about a case that bucked the trend.

More on this wacky case, and some workplace lessons for you guys…after the jump…

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Accommodating a disabled employee generally does not require displacing another

November 7, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that companies provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee with a disability, if doing so will allow the employee to perform the essential functions of the job.

The ADA contemplates a number of different types of reasonable accommodations. One such accommodation is a transfer into an open position for which the disabled employee is qualified. But what happens when there is no vacancy. Must an employer bump another non-disabled employee to accommodate the one with the disability?

As an Ohio federal court reminds us in this recent opinion that the answer is no, unless special circumstances exist:

Check out the EEOC’s playbook for combatting LGBT discrimination

November 6, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Even without a federal law that specifically bans discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identify, it’s no secret that one of the EEOC’s top priorities is to protect LGBT workers from discrimination.

And the EEOC is being quite transparent about it, with a new guide for employers and employees.

I’ve got that for you after the jump…

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85,000 reasons to nix inflexible employee-leave policies

November 5, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Just go ahead, and kill them dead!

But before I get to that, I want to quickly plug our free event next week on November 12, 2014. I’ll give you four reasons to attend:

Chai R. Feldblum, Commissioner, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Richard F. Griffin, Jr., General Counsel, National Labor Relations Board

Harry I. Johnson, III, Board Member, National Labor Relations Board

Free breakfast

Sure, I’ll be on the panel too, but do any of you really want to see me? Besides, I wouldn’t want to destroy the mystique of our intimate blogger-reader relationship? I imagine many of you now breathless, picturing an erudite, chiseled, scholar; the blogging prose~~, typos, and grammar mistakes~~ dripping from my two-typing fingers, as I….I’ll stop talking now.

Details on the event are here. A few tickets still remain. RSVP fast!

After the jump, back to reality. Kill! Kill! Kill! (the policies…)

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Under the ADA, is talking an essential job function for an HR Specialist?

November 3, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Whether a department of many, or just one, your job as an HR professional has you juggling many balls. You’re running an open enrollment, conducting a workplace investigation, recruiting, wage-setting. Cot’ damn, you’re busy!

To get those tasks done, you’d better have the gift of gab.

Or not.

Is verbal communication an essential function for a Human Resources Specialist? A federal court just examined this question under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Click through for the answer…

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HR CHEATSHEET: When an employee texts you from an Ebola quarantine tent

October 29, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Five minutes ago, after taking the obligatory selfies and between games of Candy Crush, one of your employees texted (because, calling in, as if!) from an Ebola quarantine tent to alert you that she will be out of work for 21 days, while under observation for Ebola.

As an employer, what are your obligations? What workplace laws are implicated?

And, of course, because half of you are thinking it, can you just fire her?

Because this post has nothing to do with clicks or SEO — nothing whatsoever — click through for the answers…

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