Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

Common sense prevails! School reinstates black man it fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop

October 22, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com

Yesterday, I blogged here about a black man who was fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop. According to multiple reports, his employer’s position was that it had a zero-tolerance policy on racial slurs in the workplace — inexcusable, regardless of context.

Well, the school hired him back.

Still, I asked readers of this blog how they would have handled a similar situation in their workplace. Continue reading

A black man was fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop

October 21, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Last week, I quizzed you on how to handle a request for a religious accommodation to be excused from attending a weekend company holiday party. That was easy.

Today’s ‘what would you do’ is much more difficult. Continue reading

‘You better finish off your work quick, or I’ll ship you all off to the gas chambers.’

October 18, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Said a grade school teacher (allegedly) to her class of 28 ten-year-olds, 11 of whom are Jewish. Continue reading

I’ll send Tommy back there to hit you in the head with a tack hammer if you get this HR compliance question wrong.

October 17, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Michel Oeler from Pixabay

We’re going to quiz you today on workplace religious accommodations.

(If you fail, instead of sending Tommy Boy, I’ll call the HR police to your office to tear up your SHRM-CP certification into little, tiny pieces, which we will then use to fill eggs to throw at your home on Mischief Night. Then, after you’ve finished cleaning up your shame, you can come to work on Halloween in costume as an ‘HR professional’ and we’ll all have another good laugh, and maybe give you a piece of candy.) Continue reading

What happens when an employee who is suing you dies mid-suit? Is the case over?

October 16, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

wallyg [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Not exactly. Continue reading

No more no-rehire provisions in your settlement agreements. What do you think?

October 15, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

By The people from the Tango! project – The Tango! Desktop Project, Public Domain, Link

Last night, I read with interest — lawyers always read with interest, that’s why we get to charge the big bucks — about a new employment law that will take effect in California at the start of 2020. Continue reading

Can your business prevent Oscar from living in a trash can without violating the ADA?

October 14, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

3-Grouch-Joker-Parody-SNL-YouTube-1024x599

Image Credit: Grouch (Joker Parody) – SNL (YouTube)

Let’s pretend that you operate a sanitation company. One of your employees — let’s call him ‘Oscar’ — tells you that he would like to take a multi-week sabbatical to learn more about his job and spend some time living in a trash can. Continue reading

Looking for HR information on conducting workplace investigations? You’ve hit the MOTHERLODE!

October 11, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com (https://photofunia.com/results/5da05f89089f7acb5a8b4590)

Back in the early Summer of 2017, most of the experts — the pundits, if you will — were predicting that American businesses were not going to spend as much in 2018 on advice from employment law attorneys.

Then, in September 2017, along came a guy named Harvey Weinstein. Continue reading

And here is a retaliation claim that may make it all the way to a jury to decide

October 10, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com (https://photofunia.com/results/5d9aa283089f7ad4978b458c)

Earlier this week, I detailed several feeble retaliation claims that a federal court easily brushed aside.

Today, I’ll talk about another retaliation claim that almost suffered a similar fate until one of the most conservative federal appellate courts in the country breathed new life into it. Continue reading

SCOTUS Oral Argument Recap: Is Justice Gorsuch the swing vote on LGBT workplace rights?

October 9, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch Official Portrait.jpg

By Franz Jantzen, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States – https://www.oyez.org/justices/neil_gorsuch, Public Domain, Link

After reading 133 pages of transcripts from yesterday’s two (1, 2) oral arguments in the three LGBT workplace rights cases pending before the Supreme Court, three things are clear to me: Continue reading