By John E. Thompson Betty works for The Big Store as a non-exempt accounts Payable Clerk. She is assigned to help with taking a merchandise inventory over … Read more
EEOC: Retaliation Discrimination Charges Continued to Rise in 2011
Complaints of retaliation by employers trumped race for the second consecutive year, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The … Read more
Are Employers Facing Tougher Regulatory Times This Year?
Are you concerned about the ever-increasing workplace regulatory efforts coming out of Washington? Well, don’t expect that to end anytime soon … Read more
Is Friggatriskaidekaphobia Affecting Your Workplace Today?
Welcome all you friggatriskaidekaphobians. We feel your pain, even if we don’t share your fear of Friday the 13th. Most of us, of course, note it … Read more
“Flexible Work” Trend Still Necessitates Wage-Hour Compliance
By Edward N. Boehm Jr. A recent Time magazine item by Dan Schawbel of Millennial Branding discusses what he sees as a growing trend to abandon the … Read more
This Is Why HR Should Document Employee Issues in a Timely Manner
Last week, a federal appellate court allowed a white assistant manager to pursue claims of reverse race discrimination against a bank because the reasons … Read more
Are Migraines Covered as a Workplace Disability Under the ADA?
By Eric B. Meyer The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits covered employers from discriminating against job applicants and employees on the … Read more
Labor Dept. Aggressively Pushing Initiative-Focused FLSA Enforcement
By John E. Thompson Recent U.S. Department of Labor news releases show something important about its current approach to enforcing the federal Fair Labor … Read more
Can An Employer Really Discriminate Against an Obese Employee?
By Eric B. Meyer There is no federal law that specifically prohibits obesity discrimination. But is the Americans with Disabilities Act broad enough to … Read more
Not Following Your Written Policies May Be Worse Than No Policy at All
By Eric B. Meyer What’s the point of having a written handbook policy if you aren’t going to follow it? Better yet, what are the consequences … Read more
When Does Asking About Retirement Becomes Age Discrimination?
By Eric B. Meyer Back in August, I wrote about a case where a federal court held that an employer inquiring about an employee’s retirement plans, … Read more
EEOC Says In Some Cases, Requiring a Diploma May Be Discriminatory
Requiring a high school diploma as a condition of employment for some jobs could land you in trouble with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. An … Read more
Test Your HR Legal Smarts: Case of The Naughty Poet and the Bad Haircut
With all the suing going on these days, adding J.D. to your SPHR might be a wise investment. Considering that the average compensatory award in a federal … Read more
Why Do We Always Seem to Simply Settle in Silence?
You thought they were consensual emails, but it didn’t matter. You should’ve known better, even all those years ago when you were much younger … Read more
New Federal Bill Would Broaden the FLSA Computer Exemption
By John E. Thompson A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 1747) would significantly expand the scope of the current exemption for certain computer … Read more
A Lesson For Employers From Herman Cain’s Sexual Harassment Case
By Philip M. Berkowitz The highly publicized accusations of sexual harassment made against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain remind us why … Read more
Holiday Volunteer Services Might Be Seen as FLSA Employment
By John E. Thompson The holiday spirit moves many to volunteer for activities of a benevolent nature. An organization to which such individuals donate … Read more
EEOC Discrimination Claims Hit Record Numbers in 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? According to … Read more
Job Descriptions Are Not Exemption Descriptions
By John E. Thompson Among the famous last words in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act Hall of Infamy are, “Let’s write the job descriptions … Read more
Post-Employment Acts Don’t Create a Hostile Work Environment
By Eric B. Meyer When Krysten Overly, a financial advisor at a bank, told her male boss that she was resigning, Overly claims that he grabbed … Read more