Do wage and hour laws apply to independent contractors?
Every once in a while I'll answer a question that comes from my readers. Sometimes a question comes by email. Other times (to break down...
Archive: June 2008
House overwhelmingly votes in favor of ADA Amendments Act of 2008
By Jon Hyman
By a margin of 402-17, the House yesterday voted in favor of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The New York Times is reporting that the Senat...
Delay in reporting harassment dooms employee's claim
By Jon Hyman
Federal Express terminated the employment of Deborah Thornton after she failed to return to work from a 16-month leave of absence taken beca...
Is the FLSA anachronistic?
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week I wrote about whether employees are entitled to overtime pay for reading emails . Michael Moore (the author of the Pennsyl...
Protected activity does not protect theft of confidential information
By Jon Hyman
Let's suppose an employee opts-in to a class action lawsuit against your company. Let's also suppose after she opts-in to the class ...
What would President Obama look like to employers?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, Senator Barack Obama gave some insight into employment policy in his administration. RealClearPolitics has his words from a spe...
Overtime pay for reading emails
By Jon Hyman
More than a year ago I asked the question, " Is time spent outside the office e-mailing from a Blackberry compensable under the Fair L...
Two new ways to search the blogosphere go live
By Jon Hyman
It's easy to get lost in the blogosphere. There are thousands of lawyers publishing blogs, and new blawgs launch everyday, each elbowing...
Court limits employers' access to employee text-messages
By Jon Hyman
It is generally understood that employers have the right to read employees' emails sent and received through the corporate email system....
What I'm reading this week #36
By Jon Hyman
We'll start this week's review with a couple of posts on firing employees. The Business of Management asks - is there ever a good ti...
Employers go 2 out of 4 at the Supreme Court today
By Jon Hyman
The Supreme Court this morning released a quartet of opinions that impact employers. Continuing this Court's somewhat surprising trend, ...
Giving "high in the sky" a whole new meaning
By Jon Hyman
There are certain thinks you just don't want to think about while your sitting at the gate waiting to board a flight. One of them is the...
Clearing up some wage and hour misconceptions
By Jon Hyman
The Fair Labor Standards Act has two basic requirements for non-exempt employees 18 years old and over: the payment of a minimum wage (which...
Color-blind employment practices
By Jon Hyman
The Word on Employment Law has an interesting post this morning about the effect of color on the Presidential election. Note that I said co...
It's a Discriminatory World After All - Sikh sues Disney for banning his turban
By Jon Hyman
I am a Sikh man and the turban that I wear is a religiously-mandated article of clothing. My supervisor tells me that my turban makes my cow...
Is this the beginning of the end for the Ohio Healthy Families Act?
By Jon Hyman
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Governor Strickland has publicly come out against the Healthy Families Act : Strickland, a De...
The intersection of techology and labor law: new website for posting of compensation information raises concerns
By Jon Hyman
George's Employment Blog reminds us that an employer cannot ban its employees from discussing wage and benefits without violating the N...
What I'm reading this week #35
By Jon Hyman
While I recognize that the next statement might alienate some of my readers, I have to admit that I'm not the biggest NASCAR fan. That f...
Defining the proper "decisional unit" is key in legitimacy of RIFs
By Jon Hyman
Today, we'll finish up our series on releases and waivers of age discrimination claims by looking at how courts examine the scope of the...
Refresher on age discrimination waivers
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, we looked at Coryell v. Bank One Trust , which found that the offering of a severance package could constitute evidence of a cons...
Offering of severance package found to be evidence of a constructive discharge
By Jon Hyman
With the exception of a "for cause" termination, I am firm believer that most terminations should be communicated with an offer of...
Gas prices dictate new types of employment policies
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday's Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article on new types of perks that companies are making available to their employee to offset...
What I'm reading this week #34
By Jon Hyman
For the past 12 years, it has been the law in the 6th Circuit that an employer cannot discriminate against a female employee because she had...
Crusader seeks to ban cursing - should businesses comply?
By Jon Hyman
Jim O'Connor runs the Cuss Control Academy . He believes that America has developed an addiction to swearing that needs to be curbed. Ac...
Courts sets boundary on associational discrimination claims
By Jon Hyman
Recall in Thompson v. North Am. Stainless , the 6th Circuit recognized a claim for associational retaliation, and held that "Title VII ...
Just because paid family leave is a popular issue does not mean it is good for Ohio
By Jon Hyman
Ohioans for Healthy Families , the union-backed group behind the Ohio Health Families Act , continues to try to gather enough signatures to ...
Accuracy of background checks poses potential problem for employers
By Jon Hyman
Business Week magazine this week is running a story on the lack of accuracy in credit reports . The article claims that inaccuracies are a h...