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The Employer Handbook BlogNo, President Trump, NFL owners cannot legally fire players that #TakeTheKnee
And it has nothing to do with the First Amendment and freedom of speech. Continue reading
This military hospital’s social media cluster-you-know-what checks all the wrong boxes
Originally, I was toying with titling this post, “What Employers Can Learn From Military Nurses Who Pose Newborns Dancing to 50 Cent, Give Them The Finger, And Then Snap A Video And Photo Captioned, ‘How I currently feel about these mini Satans.’”
But, yesterday’s blog title was so long already. Continue reading
In the Third Circuit, willful FLSA violations are as common as spotting a unicorn sliding down a rainbow into a leprechaun’s pot of gold as pigs fly by.
If an employer violates the Fair Labor Standards Act, like by not paying overtime, the plaintiff(s) can generally recover two years of unpaid overtime for the two years preceding the lawsuit. Those plaintiffs may also recover liquidated damages equal to the unpaid overtime.
So, if an employer owes $100 in overtime, the total bill with liquidated damages would be $200.
However, if the employer willfully violates the FLSA, then the damages increase. That’s because the lookback period for a willful violation becomes three years.
But, what makes a violation willful? Yesterday, the Third Circuit helped answer that question. Continue reading
Is the EEOC going “wishy-washy” on LGBT rights at work?
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission believes that discrimination based on LGBT status amounts to sex discrimination. Sex discrimination is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
However, some recent comments imply that the EEOC’s position on LGBT rights at work may change.
Like, how about a full 180? Continue reading
Firefighter suspended for telling Facebook fam that he’d rather save a dog than a million black people.
Proving once again that freedom of speech is a big, fat myth when it comes to keeping one’s job, an Ohio firefighter has been suspended after he posted on Facebook about how he would rather save a dog than a million n*****s.
According to the Ariel Zilber at The Daily Mail (here), the Franklin Township Fire Department informed Tyler Roysdon that was suspended indefinitely for his inflammatory Facebook post. Amy Feinstein at Inquisitr reports (here) that the FD cannot terminate Ms. Roysdon. That’s up to the Board of Trustees, which is scheduled to hold a disciplinary hearing later this month.
Ms. Zilbert’s report indicates that Mr. Roysdon’s chances at reinstatement are slim and none:
3 complaints and an investigation with discipline, how could an employer not know about possible harassment?!?
I’m not sure what kind of evidence a federal jury was expecting when it concluded that two plaintiff-intervenors (i.e., the alleged victims of sexual harassment on whose behalf the EEOC pursued claims) did not do enough to notify the employer-defendant about possible harassment in the workplace.
And neither did a federal judge when he concluded that a federal jury plainly overlooked evidence that the employer-defendant should have known about possible sexual harassment.
“Perverse and absurd,” today’s post isn’t really as fun as it sounds.
Not even close to that fun.
No, it’s about a guy who got fired after his employer concluded that he had gained unauthorized access to its electronic files. It just so happens that the plaintiff accessed those files to assist his employer in defending two discrimination actions that other employees had pending against the employer. Either way, because of the firing, the plaintiff alleged retaliation.
How can firing an employee who is trying to help his employer with discrimination claims be considered retaliatory? See, e.g., the headline of today’s blog post.
I’ll explain. Continue reading
Company forces employee to sign a confidentiality statement or be fired, plays itself.
If you’re going to draw a line in the sand by telling an employee to sign something or be fired, here’s a pro tip:
Make sure that whatever you want signed isn’t unlawful. Continue reading
A recreational marijuana user was blowin’ hella smoke with these FMLA arguments.
Remember that scene in Animal House, the one where Donald Sutherland is sitting around with Katy and the some of the Deltas, smoking pot and discussing solar systems and atoms on the fingernail of a giant being? Continue reading