Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

Even a sex museum must try to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace

June 24, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Richardfalk2 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

A former employee of the Museum of Sex in NYC is suing for sexual harassment.

Can a marijuana dispensary be responsible for a manager’s sexual harassment?

June 21, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by CMElixirs from Pixabay

Or, stated differently, does a federal anti-discrimination law even cover a business that operates illegally under federal law?
Continue reading

Here’s a sneak preview of the outtakes from my ADA/FMLA MEGA session at SHRM19 in Las Vegas

June 20, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: PhotoFunia.com (http://photofunia.com/results/5d0b63b54686797e398b4569)

FOMO or Fear of Missing Out.

According to Google, FOMO is “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.” Continue reading

HR, here’s what you need to know when determining whether your employee’s obesity is an ADA disability.

June 19, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Mary Pahlke from Pixabay

Another court has ‘weighed in’ on whether obesity is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Hey, who just took revoked my license to blog? Continue reading

Three employment law lessons from Harvard University’s decision to revoke the admission of a Parkland shooting survivor

June 18, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Joseph Williams [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Throughout much of the day yesterday, Twitter trended with news that Harvard University had rescinded the college admission of one of Parkland shooting survivors.

For something the school just learned that he did two years ago. Continue reading

Could a judge force you to provide anti-harassment training if you create a hostile work environment? Maybe not.

June 17, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Chris Potter [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Over the weekend, I read about a case where a federal jury concluded that a female plaintiff’s former employer subjected her to a hostile work environment.

The jury awarded her zero point zero dollars, and a federal appellate court concluded that the company should not be required to conduct anti-harassment training.

WTH?!? Continue reading

I come bearing HR-compliance gifts for you today

June 12, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Two of them, actually. Continue reading

When it comes to avoiding claims of age discrimination, consider the optics

June 11, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Photo via Good Free Photos

For example, consider a lawsuit that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a few weeks ago. Continue reading

Does your sexual harassment training include this important topic? If not, it should.

June 10, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

More than ever, American workplaces are emphasizing diversity by targeting hires of different races, religions, ethnicities, genders, cultural and educational backgrounds, work experience, etc. This variety promotes different viewpoints, better problem-solving, a just a more dynamic workplace. Generally, this results in businesses attracting better talent, reducing turnover, and improving the brand and reputation.

But, with different backgrounds may come a different appreciation of social norms.

I have an example for you.

Retaliation can come in many shapes and sizes

June 7, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

By Jfacew at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Let’s say that you learn that one of your employees is testifying as a witness in a discrimination case against another company in your industry. That doesn’t sit right with you. So, you tell this employee that you’ll fire him if he testifies.

Is that legal? Or is that, perhaps, retaliation? Continue reading