The Employer Handbook Blog

Facebook photos from a Mexican vacation foil an employee’s FMLA claims

February 8, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Pixabay.com

I have three kids, ages three and under. So a vacation for me is the half hour of quiet time I get in the bathroom every morning.

It’s not like the old days.

I remember Spring Break ’97 in the Bahamas. Sun, beach, water sports, and a couple of adult beverages.

It was kinda like the Mexican vacation that Carol Lineberry, a former employee of Detroit Medical Center, took back in 2011. These pictures she posted on Facebook — we didn’t have Facebook back in the day, so I’ll deny everything. EVERYTHING! — show that Ms. Lineberry is having a blast in Mexico.

Did I mention that Lineberry took this trip while taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act? Of course, she did. And now she’s on The Employer Handbook.

See how that works? Like a Zoolander gasoline fight, trust me, this won’t end well for Lineberry. No, it won’t.

Read more after the jump…

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Paid Sick Leave In Philadelphia – Round 2

February 7, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Reporter: Rock, you got anything derogatory to say about the champ?

Rocky Balboa: Derogatory? Yeah. He’s great.

{Just needed to get that out of my system}

Employees who no-call/no-show for a month lose FMLA lawsuits

February 6, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Before going any further, allow me to wish a Happy Belated 20th Birthday to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

What can I say? I plumb forgot. To atone, I got Fammy Med a Walkman. (Kids, that’s what we used to listen to music in 1993. It doesn’t walk and it’s not a man. But it did play my mix tapes — sigh).

Next year, to celebrate the big 2-1, drinks are on me. Sizzurpbombs! Remy Martin Cognac Louis XIII.

National Right to Work? Plus, SCOTUS to take up Obama recess appointments

February 5, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

In just over half the States in America, if a majority of your co-workers elect to have a union represent them at work, then you must become a member of the union too — whether you like it or not. Nonmembers who object to that requirement must still may union dues. However, in nearly half of the USA (24 states, to be precise) employees in a unionized workplace may decide for themselves whether to join the union. This is known as “right-to-work.” Employees who exercise this right are not required to pay union dues.

Late last year, Michigan became the newest Right-to-Work State. And, last week, Senator Rand Paul (KY-R) reintroduced the “National Right-to-Work Act,” described as a bill to preserve and protect the free choice of individual employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, or to refrain from such activities. This bill would amend both the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to make “right-to-work” the law in all 50 states.

You can view a copy of the bill here.

GUEST POST: Shocking Consequences of Social Media In The Workplace

February 1, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

This week has been particularly dooziful — that’s a word, look it up — with employee social media tomfoolery. You’ve got the employee asking to be fired on Facebook, HMV employees hijacking the company Twitter account to live tweet firings, a restaurant employee posting snarky customer meal receipts and, two words, one hashtag, #CrunkBear (NSFW).

So, the timing couldn’t be better for our guest blogger here at The Employer Handbook. John Barrett is a writer and employment law activist. He enjoys spending time with his family and keeping up on relevant issues for employees’ conditions in the workplace. He is representing employmentlawlayers.com with his writing.

After the jump, John brings you “Shocking Consequences of Social Media In The Workplace.”

(Want to guest blog at The Employer Handbook? Email me.)

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New bill in PA would prohibit unemployment discrimination

January 31, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

In 2011, New Jersey passed a law banning discrimination against the unemployed. Will PA follow suit in 2013?

The ball is rolling….

The PA House introduced its own unemployment-discrimination bill on January 22, 2013, and you can view a copy of it here.

Employee posts “I wish I could get fired” on Facebook. Guess what happened?

January 30, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’ll give you a hint.

The lede from this KTVK report is: “A single sentence posted on Facebook changed Amy McClenathan’s life forever.”

According to KTVK, Ms. McClenathan made the Facebook post because she was having a rough day near the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death. So, I won’t pretend to judge Ms. McClenathan for what she was going through that day. And even assuming the post precipitated the firing, I won’t critique the propriety of her employer’s response — she was fired, and in case you hadn’t figured that out, I’ll send Tommy back back there and hit you on the head with a tack hammer.

Discrimination claims drop in ’12; The Employer Handbook go BOOM!

January 29, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thumbnail image for ebmpuzzle.jpg Kudos to this blog for the drop in discrimination claims. Yeah, I’m giving this blog credit, and so is my mother — probably.

{Mom couldn’t be reached for comment and, strangely, the EEOC press release touting the new FY12 charge statistics is silent about this blog}

The year-end data shows that retaliation (37,836), race (33,512) and sex discrimination (30,356), which includes allegations of sexual harassment and pregnancy were, respectively, still the most frequently filed charges. However, the total number of claims in FY12 dipped below FY10 levels.

OMG! Must we grant our employee’s religious-accommodation request?

January 28, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

An employer must accommodate the sincerely-held religious beliefs of its employees unless the employer demonstrates that doing so would cause undue hardship for the business.

Undue hardship?!? What the heck is that? And how can you make sure that your managers are prepared to address — let alone spot — these issues when they arise.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. I’ve got your back, after the jump…

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Holy smokes! As in, up in smoke for Obama’s Labor Board selections

January 25, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today that President Obama lacked the power to make three recess appointments last year to the National Labor Relations Board.

You can read a copy of the opinion here.

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, a two-member Board is powerless to exercise any authority. At the time of the three recess appointments, the Board only had two members.Therefore, by ruling that Obama’s three recess appointments are unconstitutional, today’s appellate-court ruling effectively moots every decision from the Board subsequent to the recess appointments, most of which went against employers.