When might firing a medicinal marijuana user be discriminatory?

May 4, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Ok. Let’s assume that I’m looking to fill another Blogprentice position here at the Bloggerdome.

[FYI – The Blogprentice’s job is to massage my scalp during those brief periods of writer’s block or when I get the vapors, rub my feet at all other times, plus whatever tasks, reasonable or unreasonable, I may assign from time to time. Job pays minimum wage. And, by that, I mean compliments. That is to say, part of the job is to compliment me. Another part is to make sure I’m using compliment correctly (instead of complement)].

All hires must then pass a background check and drug screen. Continue reading

“Spelling Bee Winner,” plus 30 other hella-dumb resume items.

May 1, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Courtesy of HRMorning.com, I’m just gonna leave this right here.

Enjoy some tunes and have a nice weekend.

Houston (Rockets), we have a problem: Twitter emoji gun violence.

April 30, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Sure, I could have used today’s post to address yesterday’s unanimous Supreme Court decision about EEOC conciliation efforts.

But this is The Employer Handbook. It’s not like I just got the call up to the major leagues.

By now, my blog game is hella-strong, yo! I troll sites like TMZ and Deadspin for fodder. And when I see stories like Samar Kalef’s “Rockets’ Twitter Guy Fired Over Emoji Violence“, well, like a moth to a flame. Continue reading

“My religion or my job?” That’s a bad workplace question.

April 29, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

It’s not that often that you come across a case where an employee alleges a hostile work environment based on religion. Sex? Sure. Race? Yep. But religion? Not so much.

Yet, when your employees are faced with the choice “My religion or my job,” it’s time to call the lawyers.

Cause, I mean, there’s proselytizing. And then there’s

PROSELYTIZING

5 FMLA facts that may surprise even the most-seasoned HR pros

April 28, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

How do I top yesterday’s FMLA cluster?

That’d be like asking a pitcher who just threw a no-hitter to get back out there and pitch another one. Well, gimmee a second to limber up, grab my rosin bag, and, Imma start dealing a few FMLA curveballs.

(See what I did there?) Continue reading

Booby scars, or don’t return from FMLA!

April 27, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

With four years of blogging under my belt, I have a pretty good sense of what may audience comes to expect from this labor and employment law blog:

~~typos~~
~~grammar errors~~
snark
“where does Eric find this stuff” posts

For today’s post, I don’t have enough hats to tip to the many readers who emailed me about this hella-crazy FMLA retaliation complaint. Continue reading

Protected conduct “can be as simple as telling a supervisor to stop.”

April 24, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

When I think about retaliation, I think about ~~that time I plastic-wrapped the judicial toilets after losing a motion to compel~~ an employee who gets fired after complaining about discrimination to an HR Manager or the EEOC. These actions epitomize the “opposition” and the “participation” clauses of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal anti-discrimination statute.

By what about when an employee doesn’t go to HR, doesn’t complain to the EEOC, but, instead, simply tells a supervisor to stop sexually harassing her? If that employee is later fired, and she can establish that she was fired because she told her supervisor to stop, is that a winning retaliation claim? Continue reading

EEOC scores a major victory for transgender rights

April 23, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Last September, for the first time ever, the EEOC sued two private employers for discriminating against employees who had transitioned from one gender to another.

One of those cases settled last week for $150K.

Yesterday, the other action survived the employer’s motion to dismiss the case. Continue reading

For ADA and accommodating employee disabilities, think ‘Burger King’

April 22, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

ADA and Burger King?!? Has someone been eating too many Whoppers? No. ~~But I did spend a 20 minute Uber ride yesterday sucking down mustard packets~~.

Actually, the inspiration for this post comes from Seattle Attorney, Michael Harrington, who presented “The Wild, the Weird and the Wonderful FMLA/ADAAA Cases…And the Lessons for Employers!” with me yesterday at the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) FMLA/ADAAA Employer Compliance Conference.

(If you want a copy of our PPT, please email me. I got you.)

Are there no limits to what employees can get away with on social media?

April 21, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

I can’t blame you if last month’s decision from the National Labor Relations Board, left you asking the question: “Are there no limits to what employees can get away with on social media?” The Board decision, in case you missed it, reinstated an employee who went on Facebook and called his boss a “NASTY MOTHER F*&KER” and, then added, “F*&k his mother and his entire f*&king family!!!!”

So, yeah, I’ll admit it. The Board’s decision leaves me wondering how far an employee can go when discussing the terms and conditions of employment.

Still, I’m here to reaffirm that there are limits. Indeed, when an employee uses social media to discuss matters unrelated to the workplace, there’s probably no protection available.