How many pre-employment medical exams does the ADA permit?
The ADA applies a traffic-light approach to employer-mandated medical exams. Red Light (prior to an offer of employment) : the ADA prohi...
Archive: June 2014
WIRTW #327 (the “Noel Canning” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided what might be its most important labor-and-employment decision of the current term— NLRB v. Noel Cannin...
Supreme Court holds NLRB recess appointments invalid. Chaos ensues?
By Jon Hyman
This morning, in NLRB v. Noel Canning , the U.S. Supreme Court held that President Obama exceeded his authority in making recess appointmen...
The Supreme Court’s opinion on cell phone privacy is a must-read for all employers
By Jon Hyman
It’s a rare day that I write a post of which the vast majority is a 900-word quote from a court opinion. Yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Su...
There's no such thing as a free lunch, unless you're the NLRB
By Jon Hyman
Let’s say you’re a popular Kansas City barbecue chain that provides employees the benefit of a free meal during each employee’s shift. Let’s...
The united colors of harassment claims
By Jon Hyman
Let’s take a look at two recent settlements of harassment claims brought by the EEOC: A Tampa, Florida, bank paid $300,000 , resulting fro...
Is it ethical to check jurors’ social media accounts?
By Jon Hyman
Every jury trial starts with what is called voir dire—a question-and-answer session between the lawyers and the pool of potential jurors. As...
WIRTW #326 (the “dads” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week, I wrote about the importance of work/life balance to working dads . Today I thought I’d share some other thoughts on th...
Firing of county employee teaches important lesson about use of mobile technology
By Jon Hyman
We love our phones. We are an iPhone society. I’ve referred to the phenomenon as “ iPhone-ification .” Do you know that there are more mobil...
NLRB Judge holds that even individual acts can constituted protected concerted activity
By Jon Hyman
Webster’s Dictionary defines “concerted” as, “done in a planned and deliberate way usually by several or many people; mutually contrived...
An ode to working dads.
By Jon Hyman
I have a good dad. Some of my best memories of my dad of him involve covering the walls of our dining room with paper so that I could practi...
Hold the Onion(head): What is a “religion” under Title VII?
By Jon Hyman
Not an onion. Meet Mr. Lettuce. Have you heard the one about the company that fired employees who refused to worship an onion? This is n...
WIRTW #325 (the “World Cup” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Do you have World Cup fever? I don't. There's a much better chance I'll be checking the leaderboard from Pinehurst than the box ...
U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenges EEOC over its “unreasonable” enforcement tactics
By Jon Hyman
I’ve written before about federal courts taking the EEOC to task for its overly aggressive litigation tactics (for example, here , here , he...
A rock-and-roll employment lesson, via the Old 97’s
By Jon Hyman
Last Thursday night, I took my daughter to see the Old 97’s . By way of backstory, Norah performed an Old 97’s song, The New Kid , during he...
EEOC cracks down on employer’s "English-only" rule
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC yesterday announced that it has filed a lawsuit against a Wisconsin metal and plastic products manufacturer, claiming that it fire...
Equal treatment in workplace misconduct helps avoid an ugly discrimination claim
By Jon Hyman
Matthew Caiazza worked as a nurse at Mercy Medical Center. He would often take smoke breaks with Jennifer Jones, a food services worker. On ...
WIRTW #324 (the “Wir werden du bald sehen” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I have used this space to write a lot about my family. You know I’m married , have two amazing children, Norah and Donovan , and a dog . Bu...
Federal court blows up EEOC's stance on medical leaves of absence
By Jon Hyman
I had this long elaborate post written about Hwang v. Kansas State University (5/29/14) [pdf] , in which the 10th Circuit court of appeals...
What the f‽ NLRB allows employee to curse out the boss
By Jon Hyman
During a meeting about commissions, minimum wage, and employee breaks, an employee lost his temper, angrily calling his supervisors words su...
A black and blue lawsuit: Tiffany & Co. sued for race discrimination
By Jon Hyman
My dog’s name is Loula Mae. “Loula” is name of the dog on the kids cartoon Pocoyo , which my son was obsessed with when we got her. “Mae” ...
Employers beware: EEOC appears to be stepping up disability discrimination enforcement
By Jon Hyman
Last month, the EEOC announced that it was seeking “public input on potential revisions to the regulations implementing Section 501 of th...