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Now, before I get to the FMLA, let me talk about another recent decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court. On Monday, the high court ruled (here) that:

    1. Claims asserted under the “improper quality of patient care” provision of New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act “must be premised upon a reasonable belief that the employer has violated a law, rule, regulation, declaratory ruling adopted pursuant to law, or a professional code of ethics that governs the employer and differentiates between acceptable and unacceptable conduct in the employer’s delivery of patient care.”
  1. A plaintiff asserting that his or her employer’s conduct is incompatible with a “clear mandate of public policy concerning the public health” must, at a minimum, identify authority that applies to the “activity, policy or practice” of the employer.
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So much for that case of Monday writer’s block…

From a recent EEOC press release:

According to the EEOC’s suit, Disability Network denied a deaf independent living specialist reasonable accommodations and then fired him. For example, the nonprofit refused the employee his requests for TTY equipment, a video phone and the ability to use text messaging, and refused to provide him with alternate accommodations.

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What with me gabbing on about firefighters afraid of fighting fires, butt grabs, and some Delaware lawyer starving himself over social media, I missed this National Labor Relations Board decision, in which the Board basically held that, as long as you don’t go too far and pull a Latrell Sprewell, you can curse out your boss with impunity.

Literally, you can call your boss a “f*%king crook,” an “a$$hole,” and “stupid” on a Friday, and still have a job to come back to on Monday.

God bless America.

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Thumbnail image for weknownext.pngIn two weeks, at the SHRM Annual Conference, I’ll be presenting “Meeting the Challenges That Leaves of Absence and Attendance Issues Present Under the FMLA and ADA.” 

The good news is that I have 75 minutes of HR greatness planned for my SHRM sesh. The bad news is that my presentation is at 7:00 AM on the day after the #SHRM14 Social Bash at the Hard Rock Cafe.

So, let’s just say “Hey, thanks a lot, SHRM!” that I anticipate an intimate gathering of HR hardcore FMLA/ADAthletes for my spiel.

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If I could drink up your collective skepticism when it comes to these Americans with Disabilities Act cases…

…I’d need my stomach pumped.

Let’s see. There’s the one about the utilityman who couldn’t climb utility poles, but had an ADA claim against a utility company. And then who can forget the bridge worker with the fear of heights who presented a viable ADA claim? And what about the stripper who feared climbing the stripper pole?

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Many cities in the Mid-Atlantic region (Philadelphia, Newark) have passed legislation that makes it illegal for employers to inquire about criminal history early on in the job application / interview process. The State of Delaware too has passed this so-called “ban the box” rule.

Last week, a New Jersey Senate Committee recommended passage of ban-the-box legislation in the Garden State.

Under the proposed NJ law, an employer may not inquire (orally or in writing) regarding an applicant’s criminal record during the initial employment application process. Although after the initial application process has concluded, then this information would be fair game.

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Welcome to Alabama, where they see your one-grope rule and raise you two grabs of the derriere.

Why? Because, according to this recent federal court opinion, the average female employee would not find getting her ass grabbed twice by a male supervisor to be offensive.

Now remember, that for a woman to prove sexual harassment, she must show five things:

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Meet Delaware lawyer, Brian Zulberti.

According to his website, back in 2013, after getting his DE bar license, Mr. Zulberti emailed every Delaware lawyer asking for information about job openings. In each email, he included this photo of himself in a sleeveless t-shirt.

Mr. Zulberti claims that this mass email, coupled with a subsequent story written in Above The Law, made him a “global internet sensation.”

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ScarfaceIn every one of the United States, except Montana, employment is at-will. This means that, absent a contract of employment for a specific period of time, you may fire an employee for any reason or no reason at all.

(Not to be confused with “right to work” — more on that here)

Well, I suppose that there are some exceptions. Like, you can’t discriminate. And many laws make it illegal to retaliate as well.

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