My answer, "Because I love it."
The practice of law, for all of its challenges and rewards, can be mundane. This blog lets me be creative. I love the creativity of sharing information in a manner that makes it accessible and entertaining. If I didn't love this creative process, this blog would have died long ago, instead of just having passed 3,000(!) posts since it's inception nearly 12 years ago.
It is because of my love of this creative process that I implore you to check out Rhett Miller's new podcast, Wheels Off. It's conversations with creative people about their creative processes. Each of the first three episodes are outstanding listens, but my favorite thus far, the most interesting and engaging discussion, is Rhett's talk with Rosanne Cash. (Labor law bonus points for Cash, who discusses the musical she's writing based on the story of famous union organizer Norma Rae.)
The earnestness and passion of each as they share why they create as their careers is genuine and moving.
If you create anything in your lives, either as a vocation or avocation, or have any interest at all in those who do, I implore you to subscribe to Wheels Off in your podcast app of choice, and add each episode to your weekly listen.
Here's what I read this week:
Discrimination
- 7th Circuit Court: Age Discrimination in Hiring is Legal — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
- No "disparate impact" claim for older applicants, court says — via Robin Shea's Employment & Labor Insider
- Does Title VII protect employees from discrimination based on perceived sexual orientation? — via Phil Miles's Lawffice Space
- Harassment Investigations: What Comes Next? — via Workology
HR & Employee Relations
- How to Decide Whether to Fire Someone — via Harvard Business Review
- This Is What Happens When You Try to Sue Your Boss — via Bloomberg Businessweek
- 10 Things You Should Never Tell HR — via The Balance Careers
- Gambling at Work: Everybody Out of the (Office) Pool — via BeLabor The PointMillennial
- Attorneys and Work-Life: Why 'Blend' May Be Better Than 'Balance' — via Law.com - In-House Counsel
- Stalking and the Workplace — via Next Blog
- Judge who secretly recorded meetings with boss suspended for 2 months without pay — via ABA Journal Daily News
Technology
- Study: Employees use messaging apps for work without HR's knowledge — via HR Dive
- The Wall Street Journal's Crappy Take on Glassdoor Reviews — via The HR Capitalist
- The next frontier in hiring is AI-driven — via The Verge
- Cyberattackers Bait Financial Firms with Google Cloud Platform — via Dark Reading
- FINRA Issues Recommendations and Best Practices to Address Common Cybersecurity Risks for Broker-Dealer Firms — via Data Privacy Monitor
- How the Government Shutdown Stalled Cybersecurity — via Technologist
- Illinois Supreme Court Authorizes Biometric Lawsuits Without Any Allegation of Harm–Rosenbach v. Six Flags — via Technology & Marketing Law Blog
- Standing in Cyberspace and Other Issues — via Understanding the ADA
Wage & Hour
- Can Federal Employees Sue the Government for Shutting Down? — via The Emplawyerologist
- What to Do When DOL Comes Knocking at Your Door — via EntertainHR
- Pay Freeze? Winter Weather and the FLSA — via Wage & Hour Insights
- Bans on Independent-Contractor Status Hurt Workers (Again) — via Walter Olson's Overlawyered
- What is the Test for Independent Contractor vs. Employee? (Jan. 2019) — via Who Is My Employee?
- Unlimited vacation sounds amazing. It can burn workers in the end — via The Washington Post
- The Human Resources FMLA (and other questionable absences) Cheat Sheet for post-Super Bowl Monday — via Eric Meyer's The Employer Handbook Blog
Labor
- NLRB Has Fallen, and It Can’t Get Up — via HR Hero Line
- How Labor Can Win the Next Shutdown — via Lifehacker
- Unionizing Weed Workers Are Reigniting the Labor Movement — via Vice
- Union Access-to-Premises Rules are Tricky — via Matt Austin Labor Law
- NLRB reverses Obama board trend on expansion Of Section 7 rights — via Employer Law Report
OSHA & Safety
- OSHA eliminates its electronic reporting requirements — via Meyers Roman's Ohio OSHA Law Blog
- Safer Workplaces Likely to Lead to Lower Workers’ Compensation Premiums for Ohio’s Employers — via Ohio Chamber Blog
- Helping Employers Weather the Storm, but Maybe Not House Pets and Home Invaders: Addressing Health and Safety Issues for Remote Employees — via The Labor Dish
- Companies Are Rethinking their Approach To Alcohol in the Workplace — via Hunton Employment & Labor Law Perspectives™