The Employer Handbook Blog

Facebook photo gets female employee fired; male employee merely reprimanded

October 28, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Over the weekend, I read this article about Laraine Cook, a girls basketball coach at a high school in Idaho, who lost her job, apparently after her school learned about a photo on her Facebook page that showed her boyfriend touching her chest.

What struck me as interesting is that Ms. Cook’s boyfriend is also her co-worker, varsity football coach Tom Harrison.

And what struck me as even more interesting is that, while Ms. Cook lost her job, Mr. Harrison was merely disciplined.

How not to respond when an employee complains about sexual harassment

October 25, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

If true, well then, good gawd, this!

Court rules that company need not allow mass unscheduled prayer breaks

October 24, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

We’re talking religious accommodations here at the ole Handbook.

Last week, it was the Mark of the Beast. Before that, we explored Ramadan bagel parties.

Today, we’re sticking with the Ramadan theme. Unfortunately, I don’t know any Ramadan tunes to soundtrack this post. So, let’s just go with Christian rock.

New Jersey Recognizes Same Sex Marriages – Why it Matters for Pennsylvania Employers

October 23, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

If only I had a hot tub time machine, I would have gone back a day and a half and scooped Phil Miles at Lawffice Space and posted “New Jersey Recognizes Same Sex Marriages – Why it Matters for Pennsylvania Employers” before he did.

Except I didn’t.

So read his post entitled “New Jersey Recognizes Same Sex Marriages – Why it Matters for Pennsylvania Employers.” It’s really good.

New NJ bill targets pregnancy and childbirth discrimination

October 22, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

New Jersey is the home of deep fried hot dogs and the Law Against Discrimination, one of the most employee-friendly anti-discrimination statutes in the country. Here, pregnant employees can order a ripper with relish at Rutt’s Hut, but, somehow, are not entitled to preferential leave treatment in the workplace.

However, a new bill pending in the NJ Senate would change all that.

Not the hot dogs, silly. They rule. You know what doesn’t rule? Leaving a quart of Rutt’s Hut relish in the backseat of your buddy’s car overnight during a high-90s Summer heat wave. Sorry, dude.

Nearly half of employers investigate job applicants online

October 21, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

This according to a CareerBuilder.com survey (here) released last week.

Of the 2,775 hiring managers polled, almost half (48%) responded that employers will use Google or other search engines to research candidates. Nearly the same number (44%) will research the candidate on Facebook. Just over one quarter (27%) will monitor the candidate’s activity on Twitter. 23% will review the candidate’s posts or comments on Yelp.com, Glassdoor.com or other rating sites.

The survey cites these statistics as a way to encourage job seekers to keep their online personas clean from digital dirt. So, I’ll take a different approach and offer some tips for employers:

Does the FLSA require paying employees who wait in security lines at work?

October 18, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

True story.

Back in 1999, when I was in law school in Washington DC, I went with my buddy to see The Matrix at the Uptown Theater in Cleveland Park. At the time, the Uptown was one of the best places around to watch an action flick. And what better movie to see than The Matrix — one of my top 10 movies of all time.

WTH does this have to do with the Fair Labor Standards Act?

Uh, duh…

[Humor me and click through, would ya?]

An employer is not required to change supervisors as an ADA accommodation

October 17, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Work got you anxious and depressed? Well then, you may be disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But if you think that the ADA requires your employer to transfer you away from the supervisor who is giving you a hard time, think again.

In Lu v. Longs Drug Stores (opinion here), Ms. Lu claimed that her supervisor discriminated against her based on her national origin and then retaliated against her after she complained. She further alleged that the abuse caused her to develop anxiety, depression, shingles, and diabetes.

On Ms. Lu’s behalf, her treating physician requested that the employer transfer her away from her supervisor. The employer declined and, ultimately, terminated Ms. Lu after she missed over a year of work to treat for her various disabilities.

That’s what they said: Social media and the workplace and the lawsuits

October 16, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

One social media-related post in October. One may be good enough for the Red Sox — eat it, Detroit — not here.

So, with a little help from my friends, I’ve got three stories on the the impact that the technology in the workplace has on litigation proceedings.

Over at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog, Venkat Balasubramani writes here about a recent decision in which a court found that a passenger’s social media rant against and airline employee may not have been defamation, but it was enough to create a claim of “false light.”

EEOC sues over failure to accommodate the Mark of the Beast

October 15, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Play us in Keith Richards…

Last month, the EEOC announced here that it had sued two companies, claiming that they violated federal law by failing to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs:

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Beverly R. Butcher, Jr. had worked as a general inside laborer at the companies’ mine in Mannington, W.V., for over 35 years when the mining companies required employees to use a newly installed biometric hand scanner to track employee time and attendance. Butcher repeatedly told mining officials that submitting to a biometric hand scanner violated his sincerely held religious beliefs as an Evangelical Christian. He also wrote the mining superintendent and human resources manager a letter explaining the relationship between hand-scanning technology and the Mark of the Beast and antichrist discussed in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament and requesting an exemption from the hand scanning based on his religious beliefs.