WIRTW #455 (the “God’s not in the restaurant biz” edition)

Two years ago I reported on a lawsuit the DOL filed against Akron, Ohio, televangelist Ernest Angley, alleging he employed unpaid volunteers in his church’s for-profit buffet restaurant. The judgment is in, and it’s not good news for Mr. Angley. U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson, in a scathing opinion [pdf], has ordered him and his church to pay employees more than $388,000 in damages (half for unpaid wages and half for liquidated damages).

Reverend Angley would suggest that Church members had an obligation to provide their labor to the Buffet, in service to God, and that a failure to offer their labor to the Buffet … would be the same as failing God. … Reverend Angley would thus coerce Church members into agreeing to volunteer at the Buffet. …  Reverend Angley thus used “scare tactics/bullying” and made “people feel bad” for not working at the Buffet. … Reverend Angley preached that he was God’s prophet, and saying “no” to Angley would be tantamount to saying “no” directly to God. … Reverend Angley also preached that repeatedly saying “no” to God or failing God ultimately leads to a person “blaspheming against the Holy Ghost,” which meant that the individual’s connection to God has been lost and was irredeemable. … 

The Buffet is a commercial, for-profit institution in competition with a number of other commercial eateries in its immediate vicinity. … Defendants stress the alleged religious purpose served by the Buffet and its ability to provide low-cost meals. … But they undoubtedly achieve those low prices, at least in part, by circumventing wage laws and maintaining a workforce that is largely unpaid. … Indeed, Reverend Angley admitted that the Buffet reverted to using volunteers as a cost-saving measure. … 

Seems like the correct result to me.

Here’s what else I read this week:

Discrimination

• ADA and Batman—by Robin — via EntertainHR
• Don’t Forget About Accommodation Obligations during the Application Process – The EEOC is On It! — via Matrix Radar
• Is Stuttering A Reason Not To Hire Someone? — via FisherBroyles
• 2d Cir kicks the can on LGBT rights at work under Title VII. None yet, but maybe soon… — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• Firing Discrimination: Trump & The Culture of Beauty — via Workology
• Liability Waiver in Pre-Employment Disclosure Form is Unlawful, Says Ninth Circuit — via Currents
• Trump revokes executive order, weakens protections for LGBT workers — via Workplace Fairness

Technology

• Why You Should Stop Harassing Cracker Barrel about Brad’s Wife — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• Social media “right to be forgotten” — via Walter Olson’s Overlawyered
• HR’s Increasing Role in Ensuring Data Privacy — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Are You Being Watched — via The L•E•J
• Intro to Cyber Insurance: 7 Questions to Ask and Insider Threat Fear Greater Than Ever, Survey Shows — via Dark Reading
• Phishing 101 at the School of Hard Knocks — via Krebs on Security
• Company laptop not fair game in employee’s personal injury lawsuit—for now — via Technology for HR
• Mining Employee Data, With Ethics in Mind — via In House

HR & Employee Relations

• Are Supervisors Allowed to Yell? — via ERC’s HR Insights Blog
• “The freezing trucker” and Gorsuch’s heart of ice: A micro-fiction — via Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
• How-To Guide: How to Handle a “No” When You Ask for Work Flexibility — via 1 Million for Work Flexibility
• Gaslighting at work — via Minding the Workplace
• Communicating with Millennials: What’s the Preference? — via Attorney at Work
• New Website Provides Nonpartisan Information For Employers & Employees — via Ohio Chamber Blog
• Culture Is a Four-Letter Word — via CUE, Inc.

Wage & Hour

• Buyer, Beware: You May Be Liable for Seller’s Wage Law Violations — via HR Daily Advisor
• Four Ways to Give Up Control and Protect Independent Contractor Status — via Who Is My Employee?
• Is Congress Poised To Reform Laws Affecting The Gig Economy? — via Gig Employer Blog
• The Affordable Care Act is here to stay — via EmployerLINC
• Confirmation Expected For Secretary of Labor Nominee Following Committee Hearing — via Labor Relations Today
• Organ/Marrow Donation: FMLA Eligible? — via Workplace Insights

Labor

• Your nonunion employees are still protected by the National Labor Relations Act — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
• Bales on Resurrecting Labor — via Workplace Prof Blog
• Will the Second Circuit Overturn the NLRB’s Surreptitious Workplace Recordings Ruling by Giving Employers a Road Map to Compliance? — via Matt Austin Labor Law
• Company Sued for Rescinding Job Offer Because Prospective Employee Signed Online Petition — via Jason Shinn’s Michigan Employment Law Advisor

OSHA & Safety

• A Homeland Security Official Came to Warn Us About Workplace Shootings and Political Correctness — via Deadspin
• OSHA Promotes “Safe and Sound Campaign” to Assist Employers — A Change in Approach? — via Workplace Safety and Environmental Law Alert Blog
• OSHA Staying the Course … for now… — via OSHA Law Blog