When is a settlement not a settlement? FLSA
When you settle a lawsuit with an employee, you are bargaining for finality. You are paying that employee to resolve all disputes between...
Archive: May 2017
6th Circuit joins the battle over class-action waivers
By Jon Hyman
There has been much judicial and administrative ink spilled over the past few years over whether the National Labor Relations Act permits...
WIRTW #463 (the “so special” edition)
By Jon Hyman
This weekend is a big one for Norah. Today, she graduates from 5th grade and walks across the quad to become a middle schooler. And tomorrow...
When equal pay is not “equal” pay
By Jon Hyman
The Equal Pay Act requires that an employer pay its male and female employees equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, bu...
Federal court breaks new ground with transgender disability discrimination claim
By Jon Hyman
The ADA expressly excludes from its coverage “transvestism, transsexualism, … [and] gender identity disorders not resulting from physical...
I still despise the misnamed and overused phrase “wage theft”
By Jon Hyman
Writing at Inc.com , Suzanne Lucas (aka Evil HR Lady ) reports on a study published by the Economics Policy Institute , which says that e...
The National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of non-employees under other statutes‽
By Jon Hyman
In MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC (5/16/17) [pdf] , a two-member majority of the National Labor Relations Board held that an employer violated se...
WIRTW #462 (the “those were the days” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I write a lot about music (particularly for a legal blog), which means that if you are any sort of regular reader, you read a lot about musi...
The 10th nominee for the “worst employer of 2017” is … guess who?
By Jon Hyman
Let’s play a game. Close you eyes and imagine. Imagine you’re the CEO of a company. And let’s also imagine your VP of HR is investigating ...
Is your non-compete agreement killing a fly with a sledgehammer?
By Jon Hyman
At least half of my legal practice is serving as outside labor-and-employment counsel for small to midsize businesses. And, increasingly, ...
A better take on what creates a hostile work environment
By Jon Hyman
Last week, I nominated Target Corporation and MarketSource for the worst employer of 2017 , because they ignored the approximately 10 inc...
WannaCry? Then ignore cybersecurity
By Jon Hyman
Friday, the largest cyber-attack in history hit 150 different countries . The ransomware, known as WannaCry, infects via a link in a malic...
WIRTW #461 (the “Nörha’s School of Music” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I love my kids’ school. Each year, the 5th grade math class ends with what is known as the “Million Dollar Project.” Each student is given a...
Critical employer law reforms move forward in Ohio House
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, Ohio House Bill 2 , favorably reported out of the House Economic Development, Commerce, and Labor Committee. This is the importa...
The 9th nominee for the “worst employer of 2017” is … the harassment ignorer
By Jon Hyman
I was going to blog this morning about President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey , and how, if you’re a CEO, and your company i...
Celebrating a decade of the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog
By Jon Hyman
This is why it matters who runs the NLRB
By Jon Hyman
In NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc. , the U.S. Supreme Court held that employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement may request the...
WIRTW #460 (the “my favorite week of the year” edition)
By Jon Hyman
This week is my favorite week of the year, because five nights from now I’ll be standing front and center at the Beachland Ballroom watchin...
6th Circuit says you can’t spell “cat’s paw” without F-M-L-A
By Jon Hyman
It’s been six year since the Supreme Court decided, in Staub v. Proctor Hosp. , which validated the “cat’s paw” as a valid theory of liabi...
10 key elements of any data security policy to safeguard your company
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I told you that small businesses (less than 250 employees) suffered 31 percent of last year’s cyberattacks. What can you do to...
If you think your small business isn’t at risk for cybercrime, think again
By Jon Hyman
If you’ve ever spoken or though the words, “We’re too small to worry about a cyberattack,” you’d better think again. According to a rec...
Wait, an employer can’t fire an employee on FMLA leave caught on Facebook on vacation?
By Jon Hyman
Actual firing Facebook photo Suppose you have an employee who takes FMLA leave for rotator-cuff surgery. Let’s say during said FMLA leav...