This has been a busy week in employment law land, with the EEOC protecting transgendered employees and announcing its long-awaited guidance on the use of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions. Yet, the most tantalizing story of the week comes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where an unfortunately-named county employee, Bill Boner, was accused of sexual harassment. The Murfreesboro Post settled on the headline, Boner rejects sexual harassment allegations. Thankfully, jimromenesko.com is all over this story to bring you the unprintable headlines the The Murfreesboro Post rejected (really):
- Boner Says Women Faking It
- Female Workers Say Boner Intimidated Them
- Boner Taking It Hard
- Sticky Situation for Boner
- Boner: “It’s Hard … on My Wife”
- EEOC to Probe Boner
There’s nothing funny about sexual harassment. But, if you can’t giggle about this story, you’re in the wrong line of work.
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
Discrimination
- Connecticut Supreme Court Stakes Out “Similarly Situated” and Statistical Standards — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
- Breakdown of EEOC Guidance on Criminal Background Checks — from Nick Fishman at employeescreenIQ Blog
- The Broad Boundaries of Discrimination in the Workplace — from Dawn Lomer at i-Sight Investigation Software Blog
- Lawsuit Filing: Woman fired after donating kidney to her boss — from Chris McKinney’s Texas Employment Law Blog
- Failure to provide timely COBRA notice, retaliation? No, Sensei!!! — from Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
- Pregnant Employees Make Very Sympathetic Plaintiffs — from Labor & Employment Law Perspectives
- Attendance May be an Essential Function of the Job — from Employment Matters Blog
- EEOC charge against you? It need not turn into a long, costly war — from HR Cafe
Social Media & Workplace Technology
- Facebook Message Leads to Disability Claim — from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
- U.K. Judge Allows Suit to be Served via Facebook — from Ethan Wall’s Social Media Law & Order
- Socializing Over State Lines: Social Media as a Basis for Personal Jurisdiction — from Augmented Legality
- California Provides Social Media Guidance for Financial Institutions — from Socially Aware Blog
- Employer’s Duty to Report Crimes: Employee Using a Personally-Owned iPad for Work Purposes — from From the Sidebar
- 1 In 3 Employers Reject Applicants Based On Facebook Posts — from AOL jobs
HR & Employee Relations
- Is that a whistle in your pocket? — from Walter Olson’s Overlawyered
- An Employer’s Response Guide to Whistleblower Claims — from Jason Shinn’s Michigan Employment Law Advisor
- Your BMI is 35: Should You Pay More For Healthcare? — from The HR Capitalist, Kris Dunn
- Does Smoking Affect Your Employability? — from The Proactive Employer Blog
- Worker’s Suit Claims His Boss Took over His Computer and Placed the F-Word on It — from ABA Journal Daily News
- Valve’s “Handbook for New Employees” leaked, hilarious illustrations included — from The Verge
- Dear Evil Skippy: Is It Illegal To Go Through My Employee’s Desk — from Evil Skippy at Work
- Oops!! Sorry – We Just Laid Off the Entire Staff via Email — from TLNT
- Just Because You Can, Does Not Mean You Should: What Non-Compete Lawyers and Their Clients Can Learn From Bo Ryan and “Transfergate” — from Trade Secret Litigator Blog
Wage & Hour
- Anatomy of a Wage and Hour Complaint — from Casey Sipe’s The Employer’s Lawyer
- Huffington Post Wins Victory In Bloggers’ Compensation Suit — from Wage and Hour Law Update
- Wage and Hour Cases ─ Not Going Away Anytime Soon — from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
- A Start-Up Nightmare: the Department of Labor Audit and How to Avoid It — from Social Media Today
- Nail Salon Must Pay Almost $236K After Court Rejects Immigration Defense Under FLSA — from Smart HR Manager
- What Does It Mean to Sell? Ask the U.S. Supreme Court — from Harvard Business Review Blog
Labor Relations
- NLRB issues guidance on new election rules, take effect April 30 — from Mike VanDervort’s The Human Race Horses
- Do You Know Your Rights? – NYT Editorial on NLRB Notice Posting Rule (Guess Whose Side They’re On?) — from Labor Relations Institute
- Senate Rejects Resolution That Would Have Nullified the NLRB’s Revised Election Rules — from Wyatt Employment Law Report
- Labor Board Meets Rising Resistance — from The Wall Street Journal
- Obama’s Renegade NLRB Is Disrupting the Recovery — from U.S. News & World Report
- Micro Union Case Hits Federal Court Of Appeals — from Labor Relations Update