Election Day is almost upon us, Gentle Reader. Behave!
Dear Miss Mannerly: My employees have strong political views, and since the Presidential debate the other night, they are out of control. They are split about evenly...more
If you follow these, you should be in great shape. Reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act continues to flummox many employers. But it shouldn’t be that hard, at least not in most cases. Here are...more
8/16/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour
Last fall, I reported on a proposed Enforcement Guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on workplace harassment. I gave the proposed guidance a good review overall, although I had some disagreements...more
Just a little harm will do. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Title VII does not require a plaintiff to show that a discriminatory transfer to another position caused her to suffer “significant” or...more
4/19/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The unconditional offer of reinstatement. Are you perfect? So am I. But I’ve been told that there are people in the world who sometimes make mistakes.
Sometimes employers do things that they think they have a perfect right...more
What takes priority? There was a social media storm this week after a large non-profit organization terminated a volunteer after the volunteer questioned the point of having preferred pronouns in signature blocks.
The woman...more
Don't shoot from the hip.
Let's say you have an employee who is in Week Six of "employee's own serious health condition" leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Her co-worker comes to you and tells you that the...more
Better to have the courage of your convictions.
I'm sure you've heard of "quiet quitting," when an unhappy employee does the bare minimum to get by and keep drawing a paycheck, but doesn't care much about the job beyond...more
It's worth a read. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released a proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, and it's quite good. Don't let the length intimidate you. If you aren't an...more
10/6/2023
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Comment Period ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corrective Actions ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
LGBTQ ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Expression ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Transgender ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
That's one way to get employers to allow remote work.
We all know that employers with 15 or more employees are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act and may have to provide reasonable accommodations to allow...more
After last week’s Supreme Court decision in Groff v. DeJoy, employers should prepare to seriously entertain, and grant, more employee requests for religious accommodation.
Gerald Groff, an Evangelical Christian postal...more
7/5/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship
Inconsistencies were fatal to this employer.
It's a well-established principle in discrimination law that an employer can be done in by "shifting explanations" for actions taken against an applicant or employee.
A recent...more
Booze, wage-hour, workers' comp . . . we have it all!
Can you believe that we haven't had a workplace holiday party quiz since 2015? It's true! That must mean it's time for a new one....more
Employers, don't be too rigid about employee notice requirements.
Weird case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Imagine this: You're the HR manager at a manufacturing facility. An hourly employee has...more
Comments being accepted thru Dec. 5.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a draft Strategic Plan for 2022-26, and is inviting public comments through Monday, December 5....more
Employers, know your limits.
As most of our readers know, for inappropriate behavior to be "sexual harassment,” it has to be "unwelcome" to the recipient....more
If so, what will that mean for employers?
Yesterday, President Biden announced that he was pardoning everyone who was criminally convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law. He's also asked state governors...more
10/7/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Pardons ,
Joe Biden ,
Marijuana ,
Presidential Pardons ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Sheesh. I would think so! Here's a story for you:
Some investors bought an apartment complex in Houston with the plan to fix it up and flip it. They decided the Property Manager wasn't doing a good job, so they fired her...more
So misunderstood!
NOTE FROM ROBIN: Earlier this year, I began a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. The first installment covered discrimination in general, and the second...more
9/16/2022
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
At-Will Employment ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
Probably. Employers, get ready.
Will EEOC lawyers do an end run around the EEOC commissioners? If so, employers are likely to see more lawsuits with the EEOC as a plaintiff, which is never a good thing....more
I'm not sure I agree. With all due respect.
An issue that has been percolating for the past few years is whether gender dysphoria is a "disability" within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I've posted on...more
Everybody's favorite subject.
Last week, Karla Miller -- the workplace advice columnist of The Washington Post -- had a fascinating letter with this problem:
The letter writer is the only female working on a floor with...more
NOTE FROM ROBIN: In March, I began a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. The first installment covered discrimination in general, the second installment covered religious...more
7/8/2022
/ After-Hours Work ,
Child Labor ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Records ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
The court is right, I think.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an opinion on Wednesday that provides helpful clarification for employers and their leave administrators.
...more
Will this catch on in the States?
A tribunal in the United Kingdom has reportedly ruled that insulting a man for being bald is sexual harassment.
According to news reports, the tribunal was made up of three bald men....more