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You be the judge: Does this sound like race discrimination to you?
Highway Patrol Images [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Highway Patrol Images [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
On April 25, 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The EEOC believes that the use of criminal record history and other background checks can have a disparate impact by disproportionately screening out certain minorities without any business-related need.
After several potholes and speedbumps trying to enforce its guidance in the courtroom against employer-defendants, the EEOC has finally won a big race. Continue reading

Glassdoor [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Jeff Belmonte from Cuiabá, Brazil [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Image by Sandra Ferentschik from Pixabay
Yesterday, one of my favorite readers of the blog forwarded me a link to this article, “Sweeney-backed bill may eliminate independent contractors in N.J.”
That got my attention. Continue reading

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
There are times when employers have to make difficult decisions impacting the workplace. Today, I’m going to talk to you about one of them involving an employee who attempted suicide and, subsequently, pressed the company to return him to work.

Image by Christos Giakkas from Pixabay
You have an underperforming supervisor in your workplace. Several employees have complained about her work performance and leadership. So, the plan is to fire her. Except, three weeks before you terminate this supervisor’s employment, she complains about discrimination.
Can you go through with the termination? Or is the timing so suggestive of retaliation that you’re practically guaranteeing a jury trial on that issue?
Let’s find out…

After a Harry Potter tour behind-the-scenes, some additional London sightseeing, and a Premier League game, the Meyers have made it back to the United States. Unfortunately, since my body is still on Greenwich Mean Time, I’m typing this post at 5:30 in the morning local time.
But, hey, my four kids survived two cross-Atlantic flights and didn’t otherwise get us banned from the UK. So, it’s all good.

Our first full day of London sightseeing is in the books. Not only did I leave and return home to our VRBO with four children — #DadOfTheYear — but I also found a suitable protector for the many barrels of local whiskey that I’m gate-checking at Heathrow when I return home.
It was a good day. Continue reading

Having avoided sepsis and other O’Hare carpet-related food contamination, the Meyer Family arrived in London yesterday, dominated some fish and chips (not pictured above) in Soho, and is gearing up for a full day of sightseeing and shenanigans today.
So, with the kids in bed and me at the computer sipping a 330 ml British IPA — God Bless America and it’s full 12 oz beer cans, yeah, I Googled the conversion rate — I have a little time to blog. Continue reading