Are hangovers the next frontier of your FMLA headaches?
A German court recently ruled that a hangover qualifies as an “illness.” Which got me thinking … are hangovers the next frontier of your...
Archive: September 2019
WIRTW #570 (the “unexpected” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I always assumed my kids would out-achieve me. I just never imagined it would happen by the 8th grade. Cleveland Magazine just named ...
6th Circuit holds that an employee cannot contractually shorten Title VII’s statute of limitations
By Jon Hyman
In Thurman v. Daimler Chrysler , the 6th Circuit agreed that the following agreement between an employer and an employee shortening the ti...
DOL announces new salary threshold for white collar exemptions
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the Department of Labor announced that effective January 1, 2020, the salary threshold for an employee to be exempt from overti...
Girl Scouts good / union organizers bad
By Jon Hyman
What rights do you have to ban union organizers from your property? A lot. Your property is your property. What if, however, you allow ...
No-fault attendance policies offer no cover when the ADA or FMLA are involved
By Jon Hyman
An employee suffering from epilepsy, migraines, and heart condition asks (with a medical note) for two unpaid days off from work unpaid to t...
WIRTW #569 (the “get by with a little help” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I bet you can’t find someone having a better time than this guy. I hope you have something in your life that brings you this much joy. ...
Accommodating pregnant employees is a legal floor, not a ceiling
By Jon Hyman
UPS has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle a pregnancy discrimination charge investigated by the EEOC. The agency was to consider whet...
When investigating misconduct, you don’t have to overturn every stone, but you also can’t ignore the obvious ones
By Jon Hyman
Unless you're a wine nerd, you likely haven't heard about the cheating scandal that has rocked the Court of Master Sommeliers, th...
It’s illegal to refuse to hire men, even if you’re a sex store
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC has sued Sactacular Holdings, LLC d/b/a Adam & Eve for sex discrimination for refusing to hire male applicants. What is Adam ...
Employee fired for stacking his intermittent FMLA leave with vacation days loses retaliation claim
By Jon Hyman
Kevin LaBelle, a lab technician for Cleveland Cliffs, took occasional days off from work for approved intermittent FMLA leave for flare-up...
WIRTW #568 (the “work songs, vol. 1” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Today, I thought I’d take a look at some of the best songs ever written about working. Here are my first five. (These are not necessarily ...
It’s hard to win a lawsuit when you admit you don’t have a case
By Jon Hyman
James Scott’s employer fired him for accumulating 10 points under its no-fault attendance policy. He claimed FMLA retaliation, alleging th...
When alcohol is involved, the ADA distinguishes between “having a disability” and “disability-related misconduct”
By Jon Hyman
Alcoholism is an ADA-protected disability. Yet, the ADA does not require that employers accommodate alcoholics by permitting them to drink...
The supposed #MeToo backlash is just discrimination by another name
By Jon Hyman
A recent study suggests that there has been a backlash against the #MeToo movement. According to the Harvard Business Review , men have...
NLRB asks for help to overturn some really $%#^ bad decisions
By Jon Hyman
“Bob is such a NASTY MOTHER FUCKER don’t know how to talk to people!!!!!! Fuck his mother and his entire fucking family!!!! What a LOSER!!...
WIRTW #567 (the “passion” edition)
By Jon Hyman
With a 13 year old with one foot dangling in the music business, I do a lot of reading about the music business, and what it means to liv...
When common sense carries the day
By Jon Hyman
Jordan does not explain how being disciplined for her unplanned absences and tardy arrivals created a hostile work environment. Without e...
Social media accounts are not telling you the whole story about your applicants and employees
By Jon Hyman
If you rely on social media to paint for you a full and complete picture about your job applicants and employees, you are going to be very...
Why “ban the box” doesn’t work for employers or employees
By Jon Hyman
Listen this clip from Ear Hustle (a podcast about “the daily realities of life inside prison shared by those living it, and stories from th...