The Employer Handbook Blog

A customer’s preference for an employee of a certain gender usually does not justify sex discrimination — even at a strip club.

January 16, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

at-your-favorite-corner-pub-bar-1024x679

License: CC0 Public Domain

Hypothetically, if I were to go to a gentlemen’s club, I would expect to see women dancing on stage for money. That’s what goes on there, I’m told. Continue reading

Forget what you heard. THIS, right here, will be the biggest employment law concern for employers in 2020.

January 15, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

SimmeD [CC BY-SA]

I’ve seen a lot of ink spilled by employment lawyers about how #MeToo, new overtime rules, medical marijuana, and salary history questions will be the significant issues with which employers would have to deal in 2020.

The Federal Trade Commission and I have other ideas. Continue reading

The ACLU and U.S. Chamber of Commerce AGREE on something. And it’s a pregnancy discrimination bill?!?

January 14, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Digital Photo and Design DigiPD.com from Pixabay

Repent ye sinners! The apocalypse is nigh! Continue reading

SCOOP: The DOL has issued final joint-employer rules

January 13, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Hebi B. from Pixabay

While you guys were watching the NFL playoffs yesterday, a little birdie told me that the U.S. Department of Labor had announced its final rule to update its joint-employer regulations.

Here’s the skinny. Continue reading

GOTCHA! You won’t believe how one company unraveled an employee’s ‘flat tire’ absence excuse

January 10, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: @sydneyywhitson on Twitter

Fair warning, this post is more about pettiness than employment law. Continue reading

If DOL opinion letters turn you on, sit down, maybe grab a cigarette, and read this blog post.

January 9, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

By AgnosticPreachersKid – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The U.S. Department of Labor could have rested on its overtime-rule laurels in 2020. Instead, the DOL has wasted little time releasing three new opinion letters in 2020. I’ll break them down for you below.

“Smokers and other nicotine users need not apply.” Is that even legal?

January 8, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

By Augustus Binu, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Because I’m a lawyer, I’ll say it depends. Except, I won’t charge you 0.1 hours of my time to say it. Continue reading

Federal appellate court instructs NLRB to reconsider whether it’s okay for an employee to use sexist language

January 6, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Last Summer, the National Labor Relations Board asked the public to help it decide when employees should be allowed to make racist or sexist comments at work.

I would have assumed that the answer is, you know, “never.” But, then again, I don’t make the rules. Continue reading

The results are in! Here’s what HR readers did to prepare their companies for the new DOL overtime rules.

January 3, 2020 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

“Pardon me. But would you happen to have any Grey Poupon?”

“But, of course.” Continue reading

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