Workplace Safety / Violence

When an ex sets an employee on fire at work, is the employer liable for not stopping it?

May 7, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The facts of this case are gut-wrenching. A former employee bypasses security, sneaks into a workplace, and brutally attacks his ex—an employee sitting at her desk. The injuries were horrific. The question for the court wasn’t whether this was awful (it was), but whether the employer could be held liable under negligence law for failing to prevent it.

The answer? No. Here’s why. Continue reading

Pro Tip: If You See a Gun at Work, Don’t Wait Three Days to Tell Someone

February 28, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

Especially if you’re gonna claim discrimination when you eventually get fired.

That’s among the takeaways from a recent federal appellate court ruling reinforcing the importance of enforcing workplace policies, particularly those related to safety. Continue reading

Your HR Guide to Hurricane Milton

October 10, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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As I write this post on Wednesday night, Hurricane Milton is making landfall in Florida as a category three storm. 1.3 million people are without power, and forecasters warn that Milton could generate a storm surge with inundations of 12-13 feet.

Many of you with businesses in Florida will have closures this week. When companies shut down due to weather, employment issues arise. I can’t cover all of them in this post, but below, I’ve tried to outline some of the more prevalent federal issues with links to helpful resources.

An employee who wanted religious exception for the COVID-19 vaccine got called on it. Guess what happened next?

February 23, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’ll bet nowhere on your HR job description is there anything about serving as the religion police.

POLL RESULTS (sort of): Only about half of employers still have COVID-19 policies

November 20, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Although the vast majority of businesses implemented a written COVID-19 policy at one time or another, many have eliminated or stopped updating those policies. Continue reading

POLL: Does your business have a COVID-19 policy?

November 17, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The other day, a partner asked me about COVID-19 policies and how clients may still implement them.

Candidly, it wasn’t something I’d thought about for a while. Continue reading

The CDC’s latest COVID-19 guidance treats unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals the same

August 12, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In what it describes as “streamline[d] COVID-19 guidance,” the latest COVID-19 updates (here and here) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention don’t appear to distinguish between individuals regardless of vaccination status.

Potayto, potahto.

CORRECTION: A healthcare employer agreed to pay over $10M to settle claims about a COVID shot mandate

August 1, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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On Friday, attorneys for over 500 current and former healthcare workers at a Midwest healthcare system announced that they had settled “the nation’s first classwide lawsuit” for employees alleging that they were unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from a COVID shot mandate. Continue reading

A federal appellate court made it difficult to blame ’20-’21 large layoffs on COVID-19

June 16, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Days since I’ve blogged about COVID-19 = 78 0. Continue reading

Five days after the CDC reaffirmed its mask order for air travel, a federal judge nixed it nationwide

April 19, 2022 | by Eric B. Meyer

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On April 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that its Mask Order (requiring face masks on planes into and within the United States) would continue to allow the CDC time to assess the potential impact of the rise of COVID-19 cases.

Yesterday, however, a Florida federal judge struck the Mask Order in Florida and across the country, concluding that the CDC had exceeded its authority by instituting the Mask Order.