The Employer Handbook Blog

Tweet today with the EEOC about the Americans with Disabilities Act #EEOC4NDEAM

October 28, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’ll be at the SHRM Lehigh Valley Annual Conference today presenting “What’s Hot at the EEOC…and How to Avoid Getting Burned!” with the EEOC’s Mary Tiernan.

If you’re at the conference, stop by ~~with pizza and beer~~ and say hello with pizza and beer.

However, if you can’t make it, ~~Domino’s delivers~~, and you still want to get your Equal Employment Opportunity learn on, then there’s this from the from the EEOC:

Social media blunders cost a chef and a chief their jobs

October 27, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

After the jump, more proof that both entry-level employees and C-Suite executives can do dumb stuff and receive the Vince McMahon treatment…

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Think an employee is faking sick? Check social media.

October 24, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

It’s that time of year again. Open enrollment, flu shots, and CareerBuilder.com’s list of the most creative excuses for missing work.

But before I get to that, how about some missed-work statistics based on responses from 2,203 hiring managers and human resource professionals, and 3,103 U.S. workers (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government).

28% of employees have called in to work sick when they were feeling well

Court gives cold shoulder to frostbite as an ADA disability

October 23, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

See that lede right there! That’s journalism, baby!

After the jump, let’s talk about what it means to have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act.

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The employer who wanted to “bring color” into the workplace; brought lot$a green to the plaintiff instead

October 22, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’m talking about a $620,000 jury verdict and nearly $165,000 in attorney’s fees.

Let’s discuss reverse-race discrimination after the jump…

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Is it legal for the EEOC to send 1,330 emails to your employees at work?

October 21, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in 2013, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began investigating Case New Holland, Inc. for age discrimination, or so a complaint that Case New Holland recently filed in federal court alleges.

So, how is this news? Let alone blog news, which is hardly news at all. I should know. I publish this drivel. And I don’t get paid for it. Which makes this the worst kind of drivel.

Anyway, apparently, the EEOC sent 1,330 emails to Case New Holland email addresses trolling for potential class-action plaintiffs — or so the Case New Holland complaint alleges. And by sending those emails, the EEOC violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution — or so Case New Holland alleges.

You’d think emailing FMLA paperwork would be ok. Yeah, you’d think that.

October 20, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Remember, over the Summer, when I blogged about how sending FMLA paperwork to an employee via first class mail is a big mistake.

Why? Because if the employee claims not to have received the paperwork, then you have no proof of delivery, and possible FMLA interference issues if the employee is somehow precluded from taking FMLA leave.

So, I offered three alternatives:

The one thing HR can’t afford to do if an employee reports a noose

October 17, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

One employer appears to have screwed up royally. Click through to find out how.

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The Employment Law Blog Carnival: Halloween Edition #ELBC

October 16, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Three nights ago…

Eric: How many bags of Halloween candy do you think we need this year?

Wife: Our neighbors said last year they had ten.

Read this before you ask an entry-level worker to sign a non-competition agreement

October 15, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

My Facebook and Twitter feeds were blowing up yesterday with links to articles at NYTimes.com, Huffington Post, and Jezebel about how the sandwich chain, Jimmy John’s, supposedly makes its sandwich makers and delivery drivers sign these non-competition agreements. These agreements purport to preclude employees from working for certain nearby competitors for two years after their employment with Jimmy John’s ends.

Now, I know what you’re thinking…

That Meyer has the coolest Facebook and Twitter feeds evah! How can I get with him? (Well, here’s how you can get with me next month, but I digress).

I’m not going to comment specifically on Jimmy John’s and its purported practice other than to say that I work in Philadelphia and it would be sacrilege to let a “sub sandwich” pass between these lips. But, after the jump, I do have a few general pointers from employers about restrictive covenants…

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