Within the past week, two states have passed laws, which will provide employees with more workplace protections.
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure that the internet had yet arrived in either Oklahoma or Louisiana, the latter of which is still controlled by a French monarch, I’m fairly certain.
(But since Louisiana also has beignets and Mardi Gras, all is forgiven).
I hope that you guys had a nice Memorial Day. Nothing like a good three-day weekend. Although, three of my four children didn’t seem to appreciate that most American businesses were closed for the holiday:
Sorry, kids.
Maybe, starting the workweek off with the Employment Law Blog Carnival: Small Business Edition over at the Employer’s Corner Blog will cheer them up.
So, check this out.
I read this case yesterday about an employee who provided her company with a November 12 doctor’s note, requesting that her hours be reduced due to her high-risk pregnancy. The employee would have become eligible for coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act on November 17.
The company fired her on November 16.
ICYMI, yesterday, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled in this opinion that PA’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.
How fitting that the first gay couple in Philadelphia to obtain a marriage license was Kerry Smith and Rue Landau, who serves as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR). Congratulations, Rue and Kerry!
So, now that, for the time being, gay marriage is legal in the Keystone State, how does this impact local employers? Find out after the jump…
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The thing about this law-blogging gig, other than the money, power and women, of course, is the pride of being first to post about a crazy new case.
Last week, I missed out on the nude sunbather who sued an elementary school-employer for retaliation. Well, Jon Hyman at the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, I see your nude sunbather and raise you two white guys and a native american who dressed as klansmen at work, allowed themselves to be photographed, and then sued for race discrimination. Boom!
Yes, this really happened.
More on this one after the jump…
In Friday’s edition of The Atlantic, Emily Matcher’s “Should Paid ‘Menstrual Leave’ Be a Thing?” was shared over 12,000 times.
The article notes that several Asian countries including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia, offer “menstrual leave” for women endure painful periods. However, Ms. Matcher mentioned that, while many of these laws are “well-intentioned,” many women decline to take leave given the potential embarrassment of having to substantiate the basis for their “menstrual leave” or because they may be viewed as weak.
Katy Waldman, writing at The Slate Blog, says “Thanks, but We Will Pass on Paid Menstrual Leave.” She argues that companies with reasonable sick-leave policies “should be able to accommodate these women without prying into their pants.”
Here are some Tennessee fun facts:
- The city of Kingston served as Tennessee’s state capital for one day (September 21, 1807)
- There are more horses per capita in Shelby County than any other county in the United States.
In Pennsylvania, a company and an employee can enter into an agreement whereby, in exchange for some form of consideration, the employee agrees not to compete with the company after the employment ends.
Consideration can come in a variety of forms; for example, a raise, bonus, promotion, or sugar. Initial employment can also be sufficient consideration.
However, in Pennsylvania, continued employment won’t cut it. That is, a non-competition agreement will be invalid if an employee signs it after commencing employment — even if you tell the employee that he/she will lose his job by not signing.
It was Gloria Steinem who, in discussing President Bill Clinton’s indiscretions with Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey, fashioned the “one free grope” rule. That is, while not condoning President Clinton’s actions, Steinem concluded that one touching is not sexual harassment — at least as a matter law.
Well, yesterday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, saw Steinem’s “one-free-grope” rule and raised her a “two-free-slurs” rule.
In Boyer-Liberto v. Fontainebleu Corp., (opinion (here), a black plaintiff alleged that her co-worker referred to her as a “porch monkey” twice in two days, from which she claimed to have been subjected to a racially hostile work environment.
Well, sure, you can.
But winning that case — especially if you’re thinking about a claim under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — may be another story.
The CFAA is designed to prevent unauthorized access or malicious interference with a computer system. Often used as an employer-sword, to state a claim for a violation of the CFAA, a company must prove that an employee actually caused damage to its computer system or data. The CFAA defines “damage” as “any impairment to the integrity or availability of data, a program, a system, or information.”
The Employer Handbook Blog