The Employer Handbook Blog

“An employee who has suffered a heart attack has enough to deal with without having to face unlawful discrimination and unemployment.”

May 30, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Continuing yesterday’s HR Compliance 101 theme, I revisited the EEOC Newsroom and found a recent release that addresses some considerations for when you have an employee that needs leave from work to treat for an illness.

Today’s lesson is a pragmatic and compassionate approach to providing accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Grab the tack hammer. It’s the ‘Tommy Boy’ of employment discrimination stupid.

May 29, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Tommy Boy (screenshot from Vimeo.com)

Last week, I wavered about whether to include a line from Tommy Boy in a brief that I was drafting:

“I tell ya what. If you don’t know how to fasten your seatbelt, just raise your hand and I’ll have Tommy Boy here come back there and hit you in the head with a tack hammer.”

Ultimately, I decided that it was bad form. One could reasonably construe my use of that quote as antagonizing and bit snarky. Moi?!?

So, I’m using it for this blog post instead. Continue reading

You can’t fire an employee while on FMLA leave. Except when you can.

May 28, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Pixabay.com

Yesterday, I was reading this case about a woman who was fired while taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. She later sued, claiming FMLA interference; i.e., that her employer had denied her FMLA benefits to which she was otherwise entitled.

An employee fired while on FMLA leave is usually a recipe for trouble for the employer.

But not this time. Continue reading

The largest HR organization in the world ❤’s the DOL’s proposed overtime rules. Mostly.

May 24, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

By Source, Fair use, Link

The Society for Human Resource Management has commented on the United States Department of Labor‘s proposed changes to the current overtime rules.

Spoiler alert: SHRM likes ’em. Continue reading

The owner’s son was fired for peeing on a child’s cancer memorial. Lessons on accountability and off-duty conduct.

May 23, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

The owner of a plumbing company fired his son who is accused of urinating on a memorial dedicated to a boy who died from cancer in 2012. Continue reading

2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris just floated ‘the most aggressive equal pay proposal in history.’

May 22, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

United States Senate [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Yep, this plan packs a punch. Continue reading

What does a $3.3M jury verdict for race discrimination by a strip club look like? I’ll show you.

May 21, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Google Street View

It doesn’t look so good if you are the defendant. Continue reading

The House passed the Equality Act to protect LGBT rights at work. Here’s why it won’t become law.

May 20, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

sharon-mccutcheon-516755-unsplash-1024x673

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Allow me to explain.
Continue reading

A new bill in Congress will end forced arbitration of employment claims. But, will it pass?

May 17, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com

In a statement issued earlier this week, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) announced that he would “not rest” until Congress passed “historic legislation to end forced arbitration.”

I have a feeling Mr. Nadler is going to be pretty tired. But, let’s see what this is all about. Continue reading

Examples of pregnancy accommodations include shift changes, rest breaks and, oh yeah, open-toed shoes.

May 16, 2019 | by Eric B. Meyer

Manolo Blahnik on Whitney Port Shankbone 2009 Tribeca.jpg

By David Shankbone – Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link

Yesterday’s post was all about the breadth of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). We addressed a situation in which a plaintiff alleged that her employer fired her for seeking an abortion. The court concluded that, if true, the employer’s actions would have violated the PDA.

(The employer ultimately prevailed on the PDA claim because it had a non-discriminatory reason for firing the plaintiff.)

Today, let’s shift focus to accommodations under the PDA. Continue reading