The Employer Handbook Blog

The Supreme Court on FLSA, donning, doffing, and Daft Punk!

January 28, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

If there’s one thing I know from my blog stats, it’s that no one clicks on my posts about ~~you’ll never believe what Justin Bieber did now!~~ the Fair Labor Standards Act.

If there was only some way that I could jazz them up to attract readers.~~Miley Cyrus is engaged to who?~~

Maybe the facts of yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision discussing ~~Kim Kardashian’s latest piercing~~ FLSA “donning and doffing” are sexy enough on their own.

FACT OR FICTION: A temporary disability may be an ADA disability

January 27, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.”

Let’s assume that your employee breaks his leg. Doctors tell your employee that he won’t walk normally for seven months. Without surgery, bed rest, pain medication, and physical therapy, he “likely” won’t be able to walk for more than a year after the accident.

Bottom line: The employee will heal, but it will take some time.

NJ now bans discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions

January 24, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thumbnail image for nj.jpg I blogged about it here back in October. ~~My epic Lil’ Za Halloween costume~~. Both the NJ House and Senate had proposed legislation whereby a female employee affected by pregnancy could not be treated worse than other non-pregnant co-workers, but similar in their ability or inability to work.

Well, now, it’s the law, son! Under the new law, which Governor Chris Christie (R) signed on Tuesday, employers must provide reasonable accommodation to pregnant employees that will allow them to maintain a healthy pregnancy, or who need a reasonable accommodation while recovering from childbirth. Examples include bathroom breaks, breaks for increased water intake, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring or modified work schedules, and temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work. An employer can avoid accommodation if it can establish that doing so would cause it undue hardship.

The new law takes effect immediately.

The guy fired for grab-ass at work may have been discriminated against

January 23, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

“My ears are burning…”

No, not you, Bill Clinton.

And not you either, Homer Simpson.

Social media? Anti-harassment? No workplace policy can prevent something this stupid…

January 22, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

On MLK Day, with a few of my co-workers and my four-year-old son, I performed community service. We went to a local center and spent a few hours making peanut butter sandwiches to feed the homeless.

Actually, we spent a half-hour or so making sandwiches. Most of us spent the remainder of the time continuing to make sandwiches, while my son ate peanut butter.

Win-win.

GUEST POST: What legal rights do unpaid interns have?

January 21, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s Samantha Hopkins. Samantha is a law student who just received her big break.

She gets to guest blog at The Employer Handbook!

(Want to guest blog on an employment-law topic at The Employer Handbook? Email me).

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Why a single kiss could have one employer in boiling hot legal water

January 17, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

I give a lot of “respect in the workplace” trainings. And I generally tell the audience that, while a single offensive comment or act in the workplace is one incident too many, one instance generally does not create a winning lawsuit. That’s because a plaintiff must show that he/she was subjected to either severe (really, really bad) or pervasive (a lot of bad) behavior to establish a hostile work environment.

Now, there are some exceptions. New Jersey is one of the few states that has held that a single discriminatory comment can create an actionable hostile work environment claim.

But what if, instead of a slur, we have an assault; one which the plaintiff claims was not only unwelcome, but particularly disturbing?

And we have an early contender for worst employment-law decision of 2014

January 16, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

That may be sugar coating it a bit.

A county employee, who applied for a lateral transfer, and ultimately received that transfer, was able to convince two judges on a federal appellate court that the transfer was discriminatory.

That’s right. An employee may have a discrimination claim for receiving the specific transfer he requested.

GUEST POST: HR Department of One

January 15, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s Holly DePalma. Holly is Director, HR Services at MidAtlantic Employers’ Association, a single source for HR services, delivering responsive, practical solutions to its members.

(Want to guest blog on an employment-law topic at The Employer Handbook? Email me).

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