Union avoidance vs. union busting
"A company that opposes a union organizing and presents both sides of this complex issue is 'union busting.'" This is what...
Archive: January 2023
Lessons from coaching high school mock trial
By Jon Hyman
When you try a case, there’s not much within your control. You can’t control the judge. You can’t control the jury. You can’t control your o...
WIRTW #658: the “Toad Jesus” edition
By Jon Hyman
On the latest edition of The Norah and Dad Show , we discuss Freckles, Norah's newly rescued-from-the-backyard pet toad, who may be slee...
Update on Creature Comfort Brewing’s union organizing
By Jon Hyman
Last week I reported that the employees of Creature Comforts Brewing Co. formed their own independent labor union, the Brewing Union of Ge...
Offensive social media posts doom airline employee’s discrimination claim
By Jon Hyman
"If I were Black in America, I think I'd get down on my knees every day and thank my lucky stars that my ancestors were brought ove...
The BIG risk of misclassifying employees as independent contractors
By Jon Hyman
A national auto parts distributor has reached a settlement with the Department of Labor to pay a total of $5.6 million in back pay and liqu...
WIRTW #657: the “Let me buy you a beer” edition
By Jon Hyman
From Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference is taking place in Cleveland. My firm and I are playing a prominent role. On Jan....
What does Creature Comfort’s union announcement mean for your craft brewery?
By Jon Hyman
The employees of Creature Comforts Brewing Co. recently held a rally to announce their intent to form a labor union. They also announced t...
Dress codes and gender biases
By Jon Hyman
Women are prohibited from showing their bare arms. Women are required to cover their dress with a second layer. These are two new rules the ...
Dr. King’s struggle has not ended
By Jon Hyman
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by t...
WIRTW #656: the “Dilenogate” edition
By Jon Hyman
Until now, I've avoided writing about Dilenogate, the story that has gripped the Cleveland legal community and the nation. To sum it up...
Employers, for the love of God, please stop banning employees from discussing their wages
By Jon Hyman
I came across the following recent post on the legaladvice subreddit . Work for a brewery. GM and owner … informed everyone that we needed...
Settlement highlights wage and hour risks of remote work
By Jon Hyman
The City of Cleveland has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the wage and hour claim of a City Hall employee who claimed that she wasn't p...
A supersized harassment settlement highlights the extra care employers must take when employing minors
By Jon Hyman
How bad must sexual harassment be for an employer to settle a harassment case for $2 million? This bad. AMTCR—the owner of 18 McDonald's...
WIRTW #655: the “FTC did WHAT?!?!” edition
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the FTC broke the employment law internet when it announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if it takes effect, would ban...
While I was away, Congress pumped life into workplace rights of pregnant employees and new moms
By Jon Hyman
Two laws — the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act — took effect wh...
Just because the law may not require first aid training in your workplace doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea
By Jon Hyman
There is no law or regulation that requires employers to have a person or persons trained to provide first aid in the workplace. Instead, OS...
Do you know what to do when an employee suffers a severe accident at work?
By Jon Hyman
It was like nothing we've ever seen in a televised sporting event … and hope we never see again. During last night's Monday Night F...