Friday, June 19, 2009

WIRTW #84

Last week I posted a clip from one of my favorite movies, Office Space. This week, Dan Schwartz at the Connecticut Employment Law Blog teaches that had Milton engaged in protected activity before Lumbergh moved his desk downstairs to storage B, he could have filed a retaliation claim instead of taking out his anger by burning down Initech. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, run, don’t walk, and rent Office Space now).

Jay Shepherd, of Gruntled Employees, thinks its pretty lousy to let employees know about layoffs via voicemail.

Two opposing views on arbitration under the Employee Free Choice Act: the Chamber Post, on why it’s wrong to arbitrate first contracts, and Today’s Workplace, on why it’s wrong to favor arbitration of workplace claims but not arbitration of collective bargaining agreements.

The Email Fail Blog points out why you might want to think twice before you send that racist email from a work computer.

The Word on Employment Law with John Phillips discusses some common legal traps that await employers that furlough employees. Do you want more information on these traps for the unwary? Take a look at Do you know? Mandatory unpaid time off may affect salaried employees’ exemptions.

Eric Welter at the Laconic Law Blog has information on how the ADA treats alcoholism.

Richard Bales at the Workplace Prof Blog reports that the EEOC voted to issue regulations implementing the ADA Amendments Act.

Dennis Westlind at World of Work reports that President Obama will extend job benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees.

Michael W. Casey, III, of the Florida Employment & Immigration Blog, provides his top 10 considerations for implementing a layoff.

Rod Satterwhite, at Suits in the Workplace, on voice recognition technology as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.

The Labor & Employment Law Blog reports on a $1.6 million fee award awarded to two employees who successfully defended a trade secret theft case brought by their former employer.

Electronic Discovery Law digests a recent case in which an employee was punished for destroying a laptop after his termination.

Employment Law Bits, on female workplace bullying.

Finally, a couple of posts on corporate wellness programs: Where Great Workplaces Start shares some ideas on how to implement a wellness program. The Iowa Employment Law Blog reminds employers not to discriminate when administering such a program. 

Presented by Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, with offices in Cleveland and Columbus.

For more information, contact Jon Hyman, a partner in our Labor & Employment group, at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.