The Employer Handbook Blog

“Surprise! There’s a Skeleton in Your Candidate’s Closet!”

November 1, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

A few weeks ago, the great folks at ERE Media invited me to speak at the ERE Recruiting Conference in Washington, DC about what happens when you learn that one of your recruits has done something on social media that doesn’t mesh well with the culture of the company.

No, diversity and inclusion do not mean rounding out the team by hiring someone who posts her Halloween blackface photos on Instagram. Continue reading

You’re worried that an obese applicant may later develop diabetes. Can you refuse to hire him?

October 31, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Renée Gordon (FDA), Victovoi [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Last night, I read this recent Seventh Circuit opinion about a man who applied for a job with a railroad.

The job required some fairly physical work; namely, climbing and working on and around heavy equipment. The company’s policy was not to hire anyone with a BMI of 40 or greater because of the “substantially higher risk of developing certain conditions like sleep apnea, diabetes, and heart disease and the unpredictable onset of those conditions can result in sudden incapacitation.” Given the job requirements, this could create an unsafe workplace. So, the company told the applicant that he was welcome to reapply later if he lost the weight and kept it off.

Instead, the applicant sued, alleging a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Continue reading

Sexy Mister Rogers and the rest of your last-minute ‘what not to wear to work tomorrow’ checklist.

October 30, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Petar Milošević [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

A few years ago, my wife and I were able to convince my younger son (then five years old) that he should consider other costumes beyond his first choice: the “Adult Skeleboner One Piece Costume,” which didn’t glow in the dark like the less-endowed kids’ version he ultimately selected. Continue reading

Pennsylvania, yes Pennsylvania, announces new overtime rules that are more generous than federal law

October 29, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com

About a year or so ago, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced a plan to direct the Department of Labor & Industry (PA’s version of the DOL) to change the overtime rules in PA: Continue reading

Yes, you can be fired for sharing Elmo poop memes. It’s another lesson on at-will employment.

October 28, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Cody Hidalgo on Facebook

A Michigan man claims he “legit got fired” for posting a Sesame Street Elmo ‘poop’ meme on Facebook on a Sunday when he wasn’t at work. (h/t The Daily Dot and Unilad)

I suppose that’s kinda … wait for it … sh*tty.

PODCAST: How to Treat Employees Like Humans – Even When You’re Firing Them

October 25, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

About a month ago, I shared a podcast from my FisherBroyles, LLP employment law partner, Jessica Brown Wilson, where she addressed how to create a sexual harassment policy.

Now, she’s back. Continue reading

This leaked deposition transcript from a race discrimination case is like a bizarro embassy scene from Lethal Weapon 2.

October 24, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

13-Lethal-Weapon-II-South-African-Embassy-Scene-Very-Funny-YouTube-1024x388

Image Credit: YouTube.com

Do you know that scene from Lethal Weapon 2? The one where Joe Pesci (Leo Getz) tells the representative from the South African embassy to convince his friend Danny Glover (‘Alphonse’) not to move to South Africa because he’s black.

I’ll pause for a sec while you watch it.

A first-of-its-kind nationwide ban on non-competition agreements is coming. Possibly.

October 23, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

In 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act into law. A bipartisan approach to creating a nationwide enforcement mechanism, the DTSA prohibits misappropriation of trade secrets in all 50 states.

Fast forward to 2019, and the federal government is back at it again with another bipartisan bill — this time, legislation taking on non-competition agreements. Continue reading

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