The Employer Handbook Blog

Older employees who share porn at work lose age bias claims

December 5, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Your employees view pornography. Well, some of them do.

I know this may be a shock to some. And if you are one of those people, and you run a business in one of the mid-Atlantic states, give me a call. We should talk sometime. Then, I’ll hit you over the head with a proverbial tack-hammer.

Until then, over the next two days, I’ll address two recent examples of where nekkid pix caused employees to lose lawsuits against their former employers. The first case — an age discrimination matter — follows after the jump

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ABA Journal names The Employer Handbook a top law blog!

December 2, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thank you to everyone who voted for The Employer Handbook as one of the ABA Journal’s Top 100 law blogs. They ~~also drank the Kool-Aid~~ listened and the blog made the top 100! I am truly honored.

Now, top 100 is great and all, but I want to be Number 1. And here’s how you can help in three easy steps:

72 ways to prevent an office party from creating an HR hangover

December 1, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

If you read this blog, then I trust you read other HR/Employment-law-related blogs. And, if you do that, prepare for a December-deluge of “Ten Tips for a Safe, Fun, and Legal Holiday Party.”

Screw all that! Ten tips is so last year.

*** Big dork say “what” ***

“What! What!” After the jump, I’ve collected 72 ways to hold an office holiday party that won’t interfere with you ending the year on an HR high-note…

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Here’s a sneak peek into how union-election rules will soon change

November 30, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board gave a glimpse into how it plans to change the way your workplace may become unionized. Details follow after the jump…

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3 tips to guide a social-media check on your potential new hire

November 29, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

According to this recent SHRM survey, only 18% of companies have used social media to screen job candidates. Most cite the legal risks of screening candidates as the reason for not implementing a social-media background check.

While a social-media background check may not be useful in certain instances, I can imagine many situations in which a company would benefit from checking up on candidates online before filling a job opening. Heck, consider that 89% of employers plan to use social media for recruiting this year.

Have I piqued your interest? After the jump, I’ll offer some suggestions about how your company can safely run a social-media background check…

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Barbie Shagwell, whips, and other social-media hiring red flags

November 28, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Two weeks ago, I was in Las Vegas at the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, presenting on using social media to make hiring decisions. If you would like to obtain a copy of my presentation, just head on over to our Facebook fan page, “like” us, and download it.

After the jump, I want to touch upon one of the hotter topics we discussed. That is, just what are those red flags that employers should be looking for should they choose to use social media to background-check job candidates?

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Occupy National Labor Relations Board?!? #OccupyNLRB

November 23, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in September, I joked that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was on the verge of disbanding.

(Ok, maybe it wasn’t “ha! ha!” funny. Just work with me here, will ya?)

How does this blog post relate to gridlock in Paris and a red circle? Hella-existential, I’d say…

Your employees’ “private” Facebook posts are not private

November 22, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

What is this? A broken record?

Yesterday, I blogged about a recent NY appellate decision in which the court held that an employee who had sued her employer would have have to turn over her Facebook postings that related to the case.

Today, we head south down 95, and then west to Franklin County, PA, where a state court judge recently explained, in far greater detail than in the NY opinion, why employees have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their Facebook posts. (Not coincidentally, everything is done better in PA than in NY. Inferiority complex, much? Yep.)

I’ll break it down — the decision, not my complex — after the jump…

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Can you access an ex-employee’s Facebook posts if she sues?

November 21, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

What a whirlwind 12 months it’s been for Edith Employee! Or, should I say, Edith “former” Employee?

Last year, she was an employee for ABC Company. This year, she is suing ABC for sexual harassment. Among other things, Edith claims damages for physical and psychological injuries, including the inability to work, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the loss of enjoyment of life.

And, right now, we find the parties entrenched in some scorched-earth discovery. ABC Company has just requested “all of plaintiff’s Facebook records compiled after the incidents alleged in the complaint, including any records previously deleted or archived.”

Can ABC do that? Will Edith have to turn over all of these records? The answer follows after the jump..

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U.S. employees had a lot of discrimination claims is FY2011

November 18, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

How many claims were filed? And how much money did the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recover for individuals? Find out after the jump…

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