Business Services
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Can states legally ban “woke” training in the workplace?In 2022, Florida passed The Individual Freedom Act. But most people know this law as the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” which stands for...
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An employer that fired an employee for a positive marijuana test may have discriminated against him too.Right or wrong, an honest belief may be all it takes to proffer a nondiscriminatory reason for an adverse employment action. Do you...
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The Employer Handbook Friday Zoom Happy Hour Returns on Friday, March 8 at Noon ETThe U.S. Department of Labor rules on analyzing and determining who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards...
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Instead of hiring a lawyer, a business owner ordered to pay wages used AI to prepare his appeal. It was a giant clusterf**k!A multi-year dispute over unpaid wages went from bad to a whole lot worse for a Midwest business owner when he decided to appeal a trial court...
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Should Mrs. Doubtfire have been paid overtime?It’s not like I woke up in a cold sweat, fixated on this obscure bit of Fair Labor Standards Act minutiae. But I did read this...
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Are we seeing a trend? More judges aren’t falling for spurious COVID-19 religious accommodation claims.Earlier this week, I wrote about a judge calling out an employee for trying to cast a personal choice to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19...
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How do we help an employee who blurts obscenities and racial slurs to our customers uncontrollably?Recently, I read a recent federal appellate court decision involving an employee with a rare form of Tourette Syndrome that caused him to...
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Can employers ban workers from wearing Black Lives Matter insignia to protest discrimination at work?Photo by Brett Sayles: https://www.pexels.com/photo/slogan-black-lives-matter-on-black-board-4665903/ Last week, the National Labor...
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An employee who wanted religious exception for the COVID-19 vaccine got called on it. Guess what happened next?I’ll bet nowhere on your HR job description is there anything about serving as the religion police. But during the pandemic, some...
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145,000 reasons not to tell an employee they have “old-timers disease.”Also, it is a bad idea to give that same employee a “retire-or-be-fired” ultimatum shortly after they return from bypass heart...
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There’s one state where bringing a sexual harassment claim is much easier than the restIn most places, a plaintiff who claims that their former employer sexually harassed them must establish that the conduct to which they were...
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It’s 2024 and federal law still does not protect medical marijuana users from getting fired for testing positive.Historically, federal courts have determined that the Americans with Disabilities Act does not protect individuals with disabilities with...
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This Employee Relations Department redeemed itself (sort of).Earlier in the week, I shared four ways to BOTCH a sexual harassment investigation . My “muse” was an Employee Relations...
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In January, a 78-year-old receptionist was named “Employee of the Year.” In February, she was fired.This sounds like something that might interest the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . Oh, wait. Would you look at this EEOC...
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Here are four ways to BOTCH a sexual harassment investigationLast month, I told you that an employer’s response to a harassment complaint doesn’t need to be perfect. Just ok may do....
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How do we help our employee who tells us she has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease?Hopefully, your business never has to address a situation where an employee is suffering from progressive memory loss and cognitive decline....
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Not all retaliation laws are alike. There’s one that doesn’t even require any intent to retaliate.There are all sorts of anti-retaliation laws that protect employees. Many require that employees who invoke them prove that the employer acted...
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A federal jury awarded $1,675,000 to a deaf applicant passed over for two warehouse positionsBefore discussing the jury verdict, I’ll tell you a little about how we got here. Let’s go back to New Year’s Eve 2020...
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Here are 105,000 reasons not to force an older worker to retire“When are you going to retire?” “Why don’t you retire at 65?” “What is the reason you are not...
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A court correctly dismissed claims of age discrimination, IMO. But, this employment lawyer still has a bone to pick.Last night, I read a NJ Appellate Division opinion about a plaintiff in his fifties who claimed his age motivated the defendant to end his...
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Do as I say, not as I do? (You won’t believe how much the feds paid to settle allegations of “egregious and continual sexual harassment.”)Federal agencies, like the U.S. Department of Justice , often publish news releases touting their lawsuits and significant judgments...
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Will training white employees on “white fragility” and other concepts linked to racism create a hostile work environment? Probably not.Last week, I wrote ( here ) about a white college professor who successfully alleged that his employer subjected him to a hostile work...
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Training about racism can foster a hostile work environment. Wait, WHAT?!?Wait a minute, Eric! Weren’t you just telling us that anti-harassment training is part of the backbone of a compliant workplace? I...
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An EEOC Commissioner takes issue with a billionaire’s position on Diversity, Equity and InclusionFolks, I did not have EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas giving billionaire Mark Cuban a public antidiscrimination lesson on my Bingo board....
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EEOC launches new outreach effort to help underserved communities and vulnerable workersAs part of its current Strategic Plan , the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission aims to raise awareness of employment discrimination...
