The Employer Handbook Blog

Must an employer ask if a disability is causing poor job performance?

December 9, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

You’ve got an employee with performance issues. Big time! Initially, rather than fire her, you make fun of her behind her back put her on a series of performance improvement plans. But, that doesn’t result in — oh, what’s the word I’m looking for? — improvement.

So, you fire her.

Ah, but here’s the little wrinkle for today’s post. The poor performer experienced frequent migraine headaches and struggled with pain and other symptoms caused by endometriosis. As a result of these conditions, she frequently requested medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, which you afforded her.

Given the poor performer’s medical issues, before firing her, did you have an obligation to engage in an interactive dialogue with her, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act to determine whether her health issues caused her performance issues?

The answer follows after the jump…

GUEST POST: What HR needs to know about how immigration law impacts firing decisions

December 6, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s Emily Neumann. Emily has practiced immigration law in Texas since 2005, representing both employers and immigrants. Neumann writes a blog on immigration law (immigrationgirl.com) and shares updates on Twitter (@immigrationgirl) and her Facebook page to help her clients stay informed of the latest news. She is a partner in Reddy & Neumann, P.C. in Houston and Dallas.

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

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HR’s 2013 Performance Review (via SHRM’s #nextchat)

December 5, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, We Know Next, the muscle-bound social media arm of the Society for Human Resource Management, hosted a NextChat session on Twitter.

Oh, you don’t know NextChat?

NextChat is a one-hour session on Twitter, which runs every Wednesday from 3-4 PM EST on a topic du jour — that’s the soup of the day — affecting HR.

Each NextChat features 8 questions posed to an HR influencer. During theNextChat, other Twitter users may tweet along using the hashtag #nextchat, or simply follow along by searching for the #nextchat hashtag.

This week, the HR influencer was moi. (Go figure). The topic: HR’s 2013 Performance Review.

If you missed yesterday’s NextChat, check out all great tweets after the jump…

Employers may force employees not to file class actions

December 4, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

As my buddy Rubo used to say: “It’s like school on Saturday; no class.”

Read all about it — yesterday’s BIG federal appellate court decision; not my buddy — after the jump…

Pregnancy isn’t a workplace disability, but how about morning sickness?

December 3, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

An employee-plaintiff who claims that she was discriminated against under the Americans with Disabilities Act due to her pregnancy alone, will lose her ADA claim 10 times out of 10. This is because pregnancy is not a disability under the ADA.

But what if that same employee plaintiff with an ADA claim alleges that the discrimination relates not to her pregnancy, but rather to her morning sickness?

Hmmm….

The answer after the jump…

Employee legally fired for complaining on Facebook about the boss’ “creapy hands”

December 2, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Generally speaking, those who wait five years to complain about perceived sexual harassment in the workplace, don’t win lawsuits if they are eventually fired.

But what happens when the complaint takes the form of a status update on Facebook? Does that offer the employee extra protection?

Find out after the jump…

ABA Journal names The Employer Handbook a top law blog (again)! #TeamHandbook

November 26, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Notice anything new at The Employer Handbook?

Maybe the image on the right.

Your other right. Yeah, there it is.

Woman fired after getting sniffed by men 24 times may have a retaliation claim

November 25, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Play some Skynyrd, man!

(Just pretend the song is about reckless indulgences in the workplace, rather than drugs and needles and such, k?)

Well, this is a new one for me.

To all the employers too gun-shy to fire an employee on the day she returns from FMLA leave

November 22, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Did I scare you yesterday with my post about the part-time employee denied leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act who may have an FMLA retaliation claim after receiving full-time hours?

Well, your blogtender is here with a double shot of courage. (See what I did there?)

*** blogtender pours himself a double shot of something else ***

FACT OR FICTION: Giving a part-time employee full-time hours may be FMLA retaliation?

November 21, 2013 | 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.”

Come on, gang! Did you see yesterday’s blog masterpiece? Those .gif’s don’t animate themselves. My little elves — I’m classifying them as FLSA exempt by the way — crank the wheel every time you land on the page. So, cut me some slack; I’m taking it easy today.

But, check this out. We have a part-time employee who claims that her three requests for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for a sick spouse are denied. Then, less than a month later, her boss gives her full-hours.