“Bitch” as sexual harassment: context matters (sort of)
Bitch (n): 1) A lewd or immoral woman; or 2) a malicious, spiteful, or overbearing woman—sometimes used as a generalized term of abuse. ...
Archive: July 2012
More on educating your employees about being “profersonal”
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this morning , I wrote about the confluence of our professional and personal personas, and the need for employers to educate employe...
Does your social media policy educate about being “profersonal?”
By Jon Hyman
Jason Seiden , the co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media , calls it profersonal : the inherent intertwining of our personal and profession...
WIRTW #235 (the “exciting announcement” edition)
By Jon Hyman
The Employer Bill of Rights remains one of my most popular posts. In fact, it’s so popular it got its own book deal. All joking aside, I am...
Co-worker complaints about revised schedules may not be enough to create undue hardship for religious accommodation
By Jon Hyman
Four days after the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, hired Kimberly Crider, she informed her supervisor that she was a Seventh Day Advent...
FMLA guarantee of reinstatement is never absolute
By Jon Hyman
When an employee returns from FMLA leave, that employee is entitled to be reinstated to the same or equivalent position he or she held prio...
Don’t estop believing: employer backs itself into FMLA claim for ineligible employee
By Jon Hyman
I’ve written before about the FMLA’s unique rules for when an employer is covered and when an employee becomes eligible to take leave. ...
Bag of Bones = age discrimination
By Jon Hyman
Stephen King’s Bag of Bones is about an author who moves to a lakeside house to confront his nightmare in the wake of his pregnant wife’s d...
WIRTW #234 (the “have it your way” edition
By Jon Hyman
Recently, Reddit listed the nine menu items that fast food workers say you should never eat at one of their restaurants. I think number 10 ...
820,000 reasons to have a social media policy
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I read an article entitled, Companies Should Think Twice Before Creating Social Media Policy , which argued that “companies who s...
Disability services provider sued for, what else, disability discrimination
By Jon Hyman
I’m four years older than my brother. For this reason, growing up I would sometimes get punished for things for which my brother was let off...
The “cat’s paw” strikes back
By Jon Hyman
In Staub v. Proctor Hosp. , the Supreme Court passed judgment on the “cat’s paw” theory of liability in discrimination cases—an employer’s l...
Despite what some think, employers also do not set out to cheat and steal
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this year, I engaged in a debate with plaintiff’s attorney (and author of the excellent employee-side blog, Screw You Guys, I’m Goi...
WIRTW #233 (the “Duck Soup” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, my friend Dan Schwartz (an A+ employment law blogger) published his (Not So) Definitive Top 10 List of Employment Lawyers To Foll...
When defending employment cases, chasing attorneys’ fees is a snipe hunt
By Jon Hyman
My summer reading list includes Joel Stein’s Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity . The book recounts the self-proclaimed effete Stein’s...
The season of the witch? The ADA and seasonal affective disorder
By Jon Hyman
One thing we Clevelanders are really good at is complaining about the weather. For much of last week we approached 100 degrees, and we compl...
The EEOC and racial harassment: calling a spade a s---e
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC has published a website detailing 42 racial harassment cases it has litigated over the past three years. The purpose of the websit...
Of new dogs and new employees: communicating value is key
By Jon Hyman
Last Thursday, my family and I drove to Battle Creek, Michigan, to pick up our new puppy. I cannot give the breeder ( Jon Peck, Midnight Run...
WIRTW #232 (the “welcome to the family” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Everyone say hello to Loula Mae, our new family member (a vizsla, in case you’re curious). Here’s the rest of what I read this week: ...
Associational retaliation is not the FMLA’s peanut butter cup
By Jon Hyman
In Thompson v. North Am. Stainless , the Supreme Court held that Title VII prohibits associational retaliation; an employer cannot retaliate...
6th Circuits provides much needed guidance on pleading standards
By Jon Hyman
Today’s post is going to be a tad dry, for which I apologize. Its dryness, however, does not belittle the importance of the case I am going ...
Contingency plans
By Jon Hyman
My family and I spent last night with friends at Crocker Park’s Liberty Fest. If you’re not from the Cleveland area, Crocker Park is what...