WIRTW #240 (the “see me … hear me” edition)
Every once in a while I like to give you, my readers, an update of where you can catch me live. Next week, you have two chances to hear me...
Archive: August 2012
Are you allowed to use social media at work?
By Jon Hyman
This week, Lifehacker has been running a poll asking this question — are you allowed to use social networks at work? The results so far (fr...
Accommodating religions starts at home (a love story)
By Jon Hyman
Nine years ago today I got married. Our wedding was not what you’d call traditional. I’m Jewish and my wife is Catholic, and we wanted our c...
Sorry shouldn’t be the hardest word to say
By Jon Hyman
More than two years ago, I wrote the following, in a post entitled The art of the apology : Sometimes, all someone wants to resolve a p...
Do you know what to do when violence invades your workplace?
By Jon Hyman
Tragically, mass shootings seem to be all the rage in America. The latest occurred last Friday morning outside New York City’s Empire State ...
WIRTW #239 (the “has it been a year already” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I have been blessed that the ABA Journal has included me on its list of the top 100 legal blogs (its “Blawg 100”) for the past two year ( 2...
Counseling as an ADA-protected medical examination
By Jon Hyman
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from “requir[ing] a medical examination” or “mak[ing] inquiries of an employee as t...
What qualifies as “opposition” under Title VII?
By Jon Hyman
Last week, I discussed the limits of Title VII’s opposition clause in protecting (or not protecting, as the case may be) employees who make...
The more you know… Determining when a company knows that an employee engaged in protected activity
By Jon Hyman
“The check is in the mail” is one of the world’s oldest (and some would argue lamest) excuses. In Hicks v. SSP America (6th Cir. 8/3/12) , ...
Courts inch closer to recognizing sexual orientation as a protected class
By Jon Hyman
The Ohio Bell Telephone Company fired Plaintiff Jason Koren after he missed work for his father’s funeral. Koren suspected that Ohio Bell re...
WIRTW #238 (the “Doc Hopper” edition)
By Jon Hyman
What does a labor and employment lawyer do to relax on the weekends? If it’s this labor and employment lawyer, and it happens to be the sec...
Piercing the bulletproof employee
By Jon Hyman
Retaliation comes in two flavors: participation and opposition. The former protects employees who have “made a charge, testified, assisted, ...
The language of the modern workplace
By Jon Hyman
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary just released its list of new words for 2012 . Three caught my eye. According to the pu...
Don’t forget these 5 security issues in your BYOD policy
By Jon Hyman
BYOD might be the corporate buzz word for 2012. If you’re in the dark, BYOD stands for Bring Your Own Device. It represents employees conne...
Confidential workplace investigations are under attack … by the EEOC?
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this month, I took the NLRB to task for its holding in Banner Estrella Medical Center that an employer’s request to employees not ...
WIRTW #237 (the “don’t judge a book by its cover” edition)
By Jon Hyman
One of my earliest law school memories did not occur inside the lecture halls, but instead was a passing meeting in the hallway. I recall no...
Richard Kimble and the ADA
By Jon Hyman
Lt. Philip Gerard : Why don’t you stop running and turn yourself in, Kimble? Dr. Richard Kimble : There’s a man I have to find. A one...
Do your agreements provide for waivers of collective actions?
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this year, KeHE Distributors underwent a reduction in force. It offered a retention bonus to any sales representatives who would con...
Telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation
By Jon Hyman
More than two years ago , I hypothesized that the breadth of the ADA’s 2009 amendments would likely cover fringe medical conditions such as ...
Does a "good faith belief" about an illegal pay practice support an FLSA retaliation claim?
By Jon Hyman
April Hurd worked as a nurse’s aide for Blossom 24 Hour We Care Center. The company fired her 10 days after she complained about unpaid ov...
WIRTW #236 (the “reactions” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Wednesday’s post dissecting the NLRB’s attack on confidential workplace investigations received a lot of feedback, on Twitter, in various L...