Here’s a scenario HR nightmares are made of: an employee allegedly invents a sexual harassment accusation to eliminate a rival for a coveted position. The rival gets fired. The employer gets sued for defamation.
This week, I’m taking three of my four kids to Toronto for spring break.
My boys picked Toronto because all four of the city’s pro sports teams are home this week. The Blue Jays, the Raptors, Toronto FC, and the Maple Leafs — fine, three major ones and the Leafs.
I picked St. Thomas. I lost. Continue reading
I am an employment lawyer. I have spent over two decades helping employers avoid liability. Last week, I got a cease and desist letter. Against me.
TL;DR: I received a cease and desist letter demanding that I immediately stop using the name “The Employer Handbook.” After careful legal review, I am complying. The blog needs a new name, and I need your help picking one.
📄 Visit The Employer Handbook while the name still applies
Before the champagne pops and the Slack notifications finally stop, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what actually defined the workplace this year.
Not the initiatives.
Not the slogans.
The refrains.
Some of these are healthy habits. Others are the phrases that tend to show up right before problems do.
Here’s what kept ending up on repeat in 2025. Continue reading
A Helpful Guide for People About to Hit “Send” Anyway
Despite decades of evidence, some professionals continue to believe Christmas Eve is an appropriate time to introduce new thoughts into the workplace. It is not.
For those who remain uncertain, what follows is a non-exhaustive list of email subject lines that function as a legally binding confession: I should not be sending this today. Continue reading
Millions of Americans will sit down tomorrow and pretend that every dish on the table is:
when in reality at least three items will be:
So once again, in the name of democracy and questionable priorities, I’m opening the 2025 Thanksgiving Food Ballot, where voters will select their favorites across four key categories.
This is not a poll.
This is Election Night coverage nobody asked for.
A recent federal case shows how a workplace investigation can flip fast—from harassment complaint to defamation claim. The employer followed the playbook and won. The accuser did not. Continue reading
Every July 1, we gather to celebrate a modern fable. A baseball player hasn’t swung a bat in over two decades, yet his bank account gets a seven-figure boost—like clockwork.
That man is Bobby Bonilla. That day is today. And the story never gets old. Continue reading
Friends, colleagues, HR professionals, risk managers, compliance nerds, and the occasional law student who wandered here by mistake, I never thought this day would come. Continue reading
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