WIRTW #352 (the “rock hard” edition)

In my never-ending quest to be an employment lawyer and manager for my 8-year-old daughter’s burgeoning rock career, I bring you 4:50 of melt your face off rock and roll from last weekend’s School of Rock Joan Jett show. That’s Norah killing the lead guitar on “You Got A Problem,” and closing the show with “Bad Reputation.”

My personal favorite part—Norah’s demure, “Thank you very much / Have a good afternoon” after screaming about her bad reputation. Who said polite manners and rock ‘n’ roll don’t mix?

You can check out the repeat performance tomorrow, January 24, at 1 pm at the Music Box Supper Club.

Here’s what I read this week:

Discrimination

• New Retaliation Standard of Proof Shows Its Teeth — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Keeping Up With the EEOC in 2015 — via Law.com - In-House Counsel
• Donuts & Pregnancy Rumors: A Cautionary Tale — via All in a Day’s Work
• A hospital may have broken the law by NOT hiring a convicted meth dealer — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• Does sex discrimination protection extend to everyone? — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
• Telecommuting Discrimination — via hr bartender
• EEOC’s Arguments to Supreme Court Antithesis of Transparency and Open Government — via WinWinHR
• Is It Time To Make Fat People A Protected Class?​ — via Above the Law
• Five errors that make defending an employment lawsuit harder — via California Employment Law Report
• You’ve gotta be kidding. THIS is retaliation? — via Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• Why Companies Are Doling Out Wearable Devices to Employees — via Next Blog
• Do We Need a “Right to Be Forgotten” in the U.S.? — via Technologist
• Glassdoor Matters Because ALL of Your Employees Are Now Used to Rating Things — via The HR Capitalist, Kris Dunn

HR & Employee Relations

• Should I Check With A Lawyer Before Firing Someone? — via Evil Skippy at Work
• Background Checks – Should We or Shouldn’t We? — via Genesis HR Solutions
• Background Checks: The Devil Is In The Detail — via fyiscreening.com
• 20 Things You Wish Your Coworkers Wouldn’t Do — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• Debunking 4 Common PEO Myths — via GMS Blog

Wage & Hour

• Wage-Hour Litigation To Rise in 2015: So What Else Is New? — via Wage & Hour - Development & Highlights
• Judge Vacates Parts of USDOL Home-Care Regulation — via Wage and Hour Laws Blog
• Eleventh Circuit Explains That Employer Knowledge of Work Renders It Compensable — via Wage and Hour Law Update
• Should I let employees just leave a voicemail message when they’re going to be out sick? — via Ask a Manager
• Employer Requires Employee to Work During FMLA Leave. Ummmm, Is This a Problem? — via Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights

Labor Relations

• Technological change drives three new NLRB decisions — via Business Management Daily
• Newly Released Guidance from NLRB Regarding Social Media Policies — via Matt Austin Labor Law

WIRTW #350 (the “bad reputation” edition)

Allow me to take off my law blogger hat for a moment, and switch to my concert promoter hat.

If you love live music and find yourself looking for something to do on January 18 at 3 pm, or January 24 at 1 pm, School of Rock Strongsville will be presenting The Music of Joan Jett, featuring my very own Norah Hyman on guitar and vocals.

Both shows are at The Music Box, 1148 Main Ave., on the west bank of Cleveland’s rejuvenating Flats (a venue worth checking out if you haven’t yet been there). And, best of all, both shows are free.

Here’s what I read over the past few weeks:

Discrimination

• Is It Harassment To Post Nutritional Information On A Co-Worker’s Chair? — via Evil Skippy at Work
• The need for actual medical evidence in disability cases — via EmployerLINC
• “Your Asperger’s got in the way of your ability to interact with your boss, and we are tired of it.” — via Eric Meyer’s Employer Handbook Blog
• Family Friendly Policies: Is Europe Ahead Of The US? — via Employment Discrimination Report
• Do the ADA and FMLA Provide Protections to LGBT’s in the Workplace? — via The Emplawyerologist
• Obesity as a Disability: A Comparative Look — via Workplace Prof Blog
• The EEOC issues you’ll want to keep an eye on in 2015 — via HR Morning

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• HR Technology Trends In The Workplace In 2015 — via Karen Higginbottom at Forbes
• Watch Your Back: The Growing Threat of FCRA Background Check Class Actions — via Labor & Employment Law Perspectives
• Facebook Threats Constitute Legitimate Grounds for Termination — via Molly DiBianca at Next Blog
• Employee Terminated For Ill-Advised Facebook Post Gets Unemployment Benefits — via Technology & Marketing Law
• Report: Email still trumps social media, smartphones for workers — via Ragan.com
• 10 Social Media Privacy New Year's Resolutions — via Shear on Social Media Law

HR & Employee Relations

• Three Times When You Should Call an Employment Lawyer — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Is your company covered by the Affordable Care Act yet? — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
• Knowing When to Fire Someone — via Harvard Business Review
• 15 for ’15: Employment and labor resolutions for the new year — via Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
• Don’t Be That Guy: Holding Out on Employment Background Checks — via employeescreenIQ Blog
• The Employee Zone Of Privacy — via Ohio HR Law

Wage & Hour

• Exotic dancers agree to $2.3 million wage and hour settlement — via Employer Advocate
• A Simple Proposal to Amend the FLSA to Benefit Everyone - Yes, Everyone — via Wage and Hour Defense Blog
• Attorney Client Privilege No Defense! – Turnover of Client Communications on Exempt Status Ordered — via Wage & Hour - Development & Highlights
• Wage and Hour Collective Actions May Lead To Improved Workplace Conditions — via Overtime Lawyer Blog
• Labor Department Going After More Wage and Hour Laws Violations — via TLNT
• How Do I Calculate FMLA Leave Where My Employee's Work Schedule Varies From Week to Week? — via Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights

Labor Relations

• Decertification Infographic — via Labor Relations Institute
• NLRB Sued Over Quickie Election Rule — via The National Law Review

A New Year’s accommodation story

We spent part of our winter vacation on a quick family trip to Washington D.C.  The Old 97’s, my 8-year-old daughter’s favorite band, was playing two nights, and we decided to pack up the car and make the drive to our nation’s capital to catch the less raucous New Year’s Eve Eve show (and to see some of the of the sights).

My younger child, Donovan, who’s 6, has Celiac Disease. Traveling with someone who has a food allergy is tricky enough. When that same person is your typical 6-year-old picky eater, it’s darn near impossible.

Before we left home, I called the concert venue, where we planned to eat dinner during the opening act, to ask about gluten-free options for kids. They assured me that the wait staff and chefs were well versed in gluten-free preparations. For example, they could serve a bun-less cheeseburger (not his favorite, but he’d manage). When they told me that they had a dedicated fryer for french fries, I knew we’d be fine. He loves fries, but most restaurants can’t accommodate him because of the risk of cross contamination from shared fryers.

When we sat down for dinner, however, the server told us that the downstairs concert hall has a different, more limited menu then the upstairs restaurant, and they they don’t serve a kids menu or fries downstairs. Uh oh! I explained my son’s dietary issues, and that I had called ahead. She explained that they were really crowded and could not make any promises, but that she would see what she could do. No more than 5 minutes later she returned with a thumbs up, letting us know they a bun-less kids cheeseburger with gluten-free french fries would be on their way. Crisis averted.

Employers, there is a lesson to be learned from how the Hamilton handled our issue. It would have been easy for it to stick to its, “We’re too busy” story, leaving Donovan with nothing to eat. Yet, given how simple it was for them to take an extra minute and go upstairs for the burger and fries, I would have been offended had they said no.

Don’t  take the easy way out with your employees when they ask for accommodations for a disability, religion, or other protected reason. Even if you are legally right (and, the odds are good that you won’t be), you will leave the employee feeling offended and upset. Those feelings breed discontent, which, in turn, breed lawsuits. 

WIRTW #348 (the “blackheart” edition)

Twice a year, my kids’ school invites any students in grades K – 5 who take private music lessons to perform in a recital for the entire Lower School. On Thursday, 16 students displayed their musical talents. We heard Christmas carols, standards, and classical pieces. And then Norah took the stage with Joan Jett’s Crimson and Clover:

If you're in Cleveland, you can see Norah perform this (and other Joan Jett songs) with her full band on Sunday, January 18 and Saturday, January 24, at the Music Box Supper Club.

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Have you voted yet for this year’s ABA Blawg 100? You have until Dec. 19 to cast your vote here.

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Here’s what I read this week:

Discrimination

• The “Association” Game: How a Spouse’s Cancer May be Covered by the ADA — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Role reversal! EEOC must disclose its own background check policy to the employer it's suing — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• ENDA Getting a Turbocharge — via Wisconsin Employment & Labor Law Blog
• What Not to Do If an Employee Requests an Accommodation — via Blogging4Jobs
• White People and Political Correctness — via Fistful of Talent
• Is It Religious Discrimination To Have A Christmas Tree At Work? — via Evil Skippy at Work
• The Origins of Sexual Harassment — via Workplace Prof Blog
• Is a dumb joke sexual harassment? — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• Expand pregnancy-bias law to include accommodation rights? — via Walter Olson’s Overlawyered
• Does Title VII Prohibit Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity Discrmination? Definitely, Maybe. — via The Emplawyerologist

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• Instagram is now bigger than Twitter — via The Verge
• Lawyers Left to their Own Devices — via Clio

HR & Employee Relations

• Man has 8 minutes to convince prostitutes to quit in new reality show — via Entertainment Weekly’s Ausiello Files
• FTC and EEOC Publish Background Check Guide for Job Applicants — via EmployeeScreenIQ Blog
• Why would I want to offer a severance benefit to a terminated employee? — via Employment Law Bits
• 10 oddest Christmas and holiday gifts given by co-workers, says Harris Poll — via Cleveland.com
• Can you keep your HR lady from moonlighting as an exotic dancer? — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions

Wage & Hour

• The Changing Face of Paid-Time-Off ERC Insights Blog
• Buccaneers Will Stop Using Unpaid Homeless People To Sell Beer — via Deadspin
• States With Pro-Employee Laws: No Use-It-Or-Lose-It Vacation — via Donna Ballman’s Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home
• When an Employee Falls Off a Ladder at Work, is His Absence Covered by FMLA? An Employer's Misstep Discussed… — via Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights
• Unanimous Supreme Court Rules Employer Need Not Pay for Worker Security Screenings: Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk— via Wage & Hour Insights

Labor Relations

• NLRB Again Attempts to Invalidate Mandatory Arbitration Clauses for Employment Claims — via Employment Matters Blog
• Senate Confirms New Member of the National Labor Relations Board — via TLNT
• NLRB: Mercedes Violated Labor Law by Restricting Distribution of Union Material — via Joe’s HR and Benefits Blog
• Board ALJ Hits Walmart With ULPs — via Labor Relations Today

Let’s all strive to be a little more flexible

Two weeks ago I had no choice but to take my 8-year-old daughter to a hearing. My wife was out of town for work, and Norah was home from school sick with a fever. So, we packed up her iPod and a Harry Potter book, and we drove down to the Industrial Commission. We had a great morning. We stopped for breakfast at Starbucks and talked—about school, her friends, and life in general. In the back of my mind, however, I was a bit on edge, as I had no idea how the hearing officer would react to an unplanned bring-your-daughter-to-work day.

As it turns out, my edge was for naught. The hearing officer could not have been cooler. She welcomed Norah to the hearing room with open arms, and complimented her on our way out on how well she behaved (as if there was any doubt). In fact, she was so cool that she noted “Miss Hyman” as having made an appearance for the Employer in her written opinion.

Compare my story to that of an attorney, who, having given birth, asked a Department of Justice Immigration Judge to continue a hearing. Amazingly, that judge refused. Or, consider this example from my past of a lawyer who refused to agree to a continuance while my son was in the hospital.

What’s the lesson here? Career and life don’t always get along. Yet, the meaning of “working time” in this country is changing. Technology has made it much easier for employees to work anywhere at any time. The law, however, is traditionally slow to react. Last month, the 7th Circuit held that regular attendance at work is an essential function of most jobs (even in the face of the defendant-employer’s “Work at Home” policy), and, next year, the 6th Circuit will decide the issue of telecommuting as an ADA reasonable accommodation.

Just because the law is slow to react to this paradigm shift in the definition of “work” does not mean that you should avoid flexible work policies for your employees. Employers that can adapt to the shifting needs of their employees, and their ability to work outside the four walls of the office and the traditional 9-to-5 hours, will have a leg up on attracting and retaining talent. Isn’t that the best reason to be flexible with your workers?

Oh, and in case you’re curious, Norah’s legal career is off to a rousing start. She’s 1-0. She’ll have a tough when she grows up between lawyer or rock star.

The New Kid says thank you @rhettmiller — #NailedIt

One of the benefits of maintaining this very public forum is having the opportunity to share with you some personal insight into my family. For example, you know that my 6-year-old son deals with some life-long medical issues, and that my 8-year-old daughter plays rock music. Today is one of those days that I get to share some family stuff, this time of the insanely cool variety. So sit back and relax—no employment-law lessons. Today is a straight up rock-and-roll story.

My daughter’s favorite band is the Old 97’s. You can read the whole history here. Sunday night, my wife and I took Norah to see Rhett Miller, the band’s lead singer, perform a solo gig at the Music Box Supper Club. (Side note: if you’re anywhere near Cleveland, do yourself a favor and catch a show at the Music Box. Mike and Colleen built an amazing venue, with great sound, sight lines, and food; they deserve your business). Front row seats for the Hymans.

Norah’s third-grade class is learning how to write personal narratives. Her first story for the school year was all about going to see the Old 97’s in June and meeting Rhett backstage before the show. He was gracious and kind, and clearly made a big impression on a girl of her size.

Norah wanted to give Rhett a copy of her book at Sunday’s show, and asked if I could tweet Rhett to let him know. So I did. I didn’t get any response (nor did I expect one), and tried to temper Norah’s expectations about Rhett remembering her. But it’s hard to temper an 8-year-old.

There we are at the show, our table abutting the front of the stage, Norah no more than three feet from her idol. Did Rhett remember Norah? Of course he did. He spent his first moment talking to the crowd to say a personal hello to her (while making apologies for some of his songs’ more saltier language). And the show went on, Norah in her seat, right in front of Rhett, singing along to all of her Old 97’s favorites.

During the show, Rhett leaned forward and asked Norah if she knows Fireflies. For those who don’t know Rhett’s catalogue, Fireflies is a beautiful (if a tad biting) duet sung with a female. Historically, when Rhett performs this song live he brings someone from the audience up on stage to sing the female part. Needless to say, the song works much better if the person knows it. When Rhett asked Norah if she wanted to sing Fireflies with him, she had to decline, because she didn’t know it nearly well enough to sing it in front of a crowd. Rhett told her to practice, and they would sing together on his next visit to the Music Box.

And the show goes on. After dueting Over the Cliff with opening-act Jon Langford (whom I really enjoyed), Rhett noticed the similarities between that song and the next on his set list, Let’s Get Drunk & Get It On, so much so that he could not get into the song without confusing the two. He needed a “palate cleanser,” as he put it, and asked Norah for a request. She chose The New Kid, the song that started her Old 97’s obsession. Rhett enthusiastically launched into the song.

After finishing the first verse, and watching Norah belt away from her in front of him, Rhett leaned forward and asked if she wanted to come on stage and sing the rest of the song with him.

This is what happened next:

Rhett put it perfectly after Norah finished — #NailedIt! (Stick around to the end of the video to see Norah give Rhett the copy of her book, and thanks to Marie Popichak for capturing and sharing).

The show ends, and Rhett hands Norah the set list (which you Old 97’s/Rhett fans know is a thing and a big deal). And, sure as you know it, there is Fireflies, with “(NORAH?)” inked in right next to it.

Not only did Rhett remember meeting Norah in June, he pre-planned a duet with her!

Rhett, you are one of a kind. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for caring enough to turn a special night for our little girl into an absolutely unforgettable one. You undeniably rock in all the ways that matter, and represent the hope that one can be both a celebrity and a good person.

We’ll see you next time you’re in town. Norah’s working on Fireflies, just in case.

@rhettmiller and one of the sweetest onstage moments ever. Norah requested New Kid & sang 2nd verse like a rockstar! pic.twitter.com/yje3ZN2lcd

— Kristie Gripp (@Tippy13) November 3, 2014

Cutetallica — 4 lessons in talent management

Those of you who’ve been reading for awhile know that my 8-year-old daughter plays in a rock band. “Band” might be too ambitious of a term. She’s taken guitar lessons at School of Rock, in Strongsville, Ohio, for a couple of years, and since January has taken part in its performance program, which is known as Rock 101 for the beginner musicians. For her first set of performances in January, she was the only student, leaving her to play guitar and sing on every song. That pattern continued for her next set of shows in May, as the band added a drummer, but no singers.

Norah performed her most recent shows over the past two Saturdays. This time, even though she was joined by two other singers, she still sang lead on three of the songs (while still playing guitar), and added a new instrument, bass, on the fourth. Needless to say, she killed it (again):

 

 

So you don’t think I’m just a shill for my daughter, here are four talent-management lessons to take away from my rock star:

1. Let employees be who they are. “Cutetallica” was born out of the show director telling Norah that she sounds too cute when she sings For Whom the Bell Tolls, which, after all, is about death and the Grim Reaper. Her guitar teacher, on the other hand, liked Norah’s cute-sounding version of the song. Hence, Cutetallica. Your employees are who they are. If you want their best, don’t try to force a round peg into a square hole. Instead, let them perform while being true to themselves and their talents.

2. Push your employees. School of Rock gets it. It knows how to push kids to their limits, and recognizes that, much more often than not, talent rises to the occasion. Let your employees rise and fall to their abilities. Push them hard, and take away the safety net. They’ll surprise and delight you.

3. Age has no role in the workplace. Don’t rely on age (young or old) as a factor in your employment or staffing decisions. If School of Rock limited Norah’s ceiling by her 8-year-old age, she’d still be playing one instrument, and would stay in Rock 101 for a few more years. Instead, they allow her to take off the training wheels and succeed by her ability, not the perception of her ability based on how many years she’s been alive.

4. Talent is not a substitute for hard work. What impresses me most about how well Norah performs isn’t the performance, but all of the time and effort she puts in to honing it. Yes, I can be the nagging parent (“Did you practice your guitar today?”), but she’s the one putting in the time in her bedroom, making sure she’s going to nail her solo in About A Girl, and guaranteeing that she won’t forget any lyrics in the second verse of For Whom the Bell Tolls. Talent can sometimes leave you in the lurch, but hard work never will.

This was Norah’s last Rock 101 performance. She’s graduated to playing with the older, more experienced kids. Four months from now, I’ll be back to entertain you with the music of Joan Jett, as strummed and sung by Norah Hyman, maybe with an HR or employment law lesson to teach along the way.

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If you’re in the area, Cutetallica has one show left, this Sunday, September 21, at 4 pm, at the Strongsville Chalet, 16200 Valley Pkwy, Strongsville, Ohio, as part of the Arts in Strongsville “Day at the Chalet.”

WIRTW #333 (the “firsts” edition)

Big week of firsts for the Hyman family. First week at a new job for me. First week of third grade for Norah. And, it was the first day of kindergarten for Donovan, who after watching his sister walk the halls of her school for the past three years, is finally proud to call it his school too.

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Peanut Allergies Can Be Disabilities But Analysis Must Run Deeper — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Anti-discrimination law vs. associational freedom, again — via Overlawyered
• Post-Pregnancy Discrimination? — via Next Blog
• Facially Sex-Neutral Statements and Conduct May Support a Sexually Hostile Work Environment Claim — via New York Labor and Employment Law Report
• Sex Discrimination: Employers can be held liable for terminating an employee based on an angry co-worker’s intent on revenge — via Employment Law Bits
• Teacher Who Refused Fitness-For-Duty Exam Has No Disability Accommodation Claim — via The Employment Brief

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• Delaware is first state to adopt model law that says social media accounts can be inherited — via ABA Journal Daily News
• Social Media Policies in the Workplace — via The Labor Dish

HR & Employee Relations

• The hidden business benefits of fantasy football — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• HR Cinema: Guardians of the Galaxy — via Casey Sipe’s The Employer’s Lawyer
• Teleworker, or teleslacker? Here’s how employers can tell the difference. — via Robin Shea’s Employment and Labor Insider
• Forget About Non-Competes – What are employers agreeing on? — via Smooth Transitions
• Why Going Green Is a Great Idea in the Workplace — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
• Five Things Every Lawyer Should Know About The Ebola Virus — via The Sociable Lawyer Blog
• My Employee Is Obsessed With Ebola — via Evil Skippy at Work

Wage & Hour

• Lesson from Wal-Mart: Wage and Hour Violations Don’t Pay! — via The Emplawyerologist
• Gawker Media in Crosshairs of Interns’ FLSA Suit — via Joe’s HR and Benefits Blog
• NFL Argues Cheerleader Pay Is Exempt From State Labor Laws — via Law.com
• 7-Eleven Franchise Operators’ Overtime & Minimum Wage Lawsuit Given Green Light by NJ District Court — via Management Memo
• When Is It Time For A Wage Hour Audit? Answer—Now! — via Wage & Hour - Development & Highlights
• Not Paying Employees On Time? It’s Considered an FLSA Violation — via TLNT

Labor Relations

• Board Circles Back To Ruling Nixed By Noel Canning — via Labor Relations Today
• You’re NOT Paranoid – the Agencies ARE Ganging Up — via Labor & Employment Law Perspectives
• NLRB may encourage your employees to file OSHA, FLSA claims too — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• The latest from the NLRB on employment-at-will — via Business Management Daily

A rock-and-roll employment lesson, via the Old 97’s

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 her first concert for School of Rock back in January. I tweeted the link to the video to the band’s lead singer, Rhett Miller, who was kind enough (and cool enough) to tweet back, as was the band, who called Norah “badass.” The band was also nice enough to share the video on their Facebook page.

Thanks to a kind gesture from a good friend, Norah and I got to go backstage before the show to meet Rhett. He remembered Norah’s performance from YouTube, they talked about school and his 8-year-old daughter, he told her to call him when she gets her first paying gig, and he posed for some pictures.

The downside of going backstage before a SRO show, however, is that we lost our front-of-stage spot. The upside of going to a concert with an 8-year-old is that she can wiggle her way back through the crowd, and I get to say, “Excuse me, I can’t lose my kid.” Norah found her way back to the front of the stage, right in front of guitarist Ken Bethea, and managed to sit on the stage for the entire concert.

Being that close, I could see the setlist taped to the stage. It certainly appeared to me that the band changed their set mid-show to add The New Kid. Before the song, Rhett talked about Norah and her YouTube video, and called her “a cool kid”. And all these people around us start saying to Norah, “Oh my god! You’re the girl from YouTube. You rock!” Knowing her, I’m surprised she didn’t stand up and take a bow.

During Big Brown Eyes, Rhett appeared to look right a Norah, and, with a big smile, sang the line, “You made a big impression for a girl of your size.”

Rhett name checked Norah again while apologizing to her for the swearing during the show (sorry, video NSFW).

At the end of the show, Rhett walked up to Norah and said, “Norah, this is for you,” and handed her his pick. She was beaming.

It was a magical night for Norah, and I am so happy I got to share it with her. BTW, the band is great live, and if they are in your area, this summer or any other time, you should definitely check them out.

Employers, here’s your homework assignment. Create some magic for your employees. Rhett could have said no when someone asked if we could come backstage, but he didn’t. He didn’t have to change their setlist to add a song, but he did. In fact, he didn’t have to do anything to make Norah feel special, but he did—more than most in his situation would have—and he nurtured a fan for life.

You can (and should) do the same for your employees. And you don’t need big, expensive gestures. The small things count. Here are a few ideas to engage your employees, demonstrate your appreciation of them, and keep them content and engaged:

• Ask peers to nominate and vote for an employee of the month, whom you recognize with a plaque and gift certificate to a local restaurant.
• Start a staff-appreciation program, in which employees earn points for behavior you want to incent (such as attendance or punctuality), and can trade in those points for rewards (such as an extra vacation day).
• Randomly provide longer lunch breaks, in recognition of jobs well done.
• Circulate department or company-wide emails to praise employees when they have successfully completed a project or otherwise done something worthy of recognition.
• And, the easiest one of all, pay praise forward. If one employee says something nice about another, make sure the recipient knows about it, as soon as possible.

WIRTW #324 (the “Wir werden du bald sehen” edition)

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. But, you may not know that my family includes a teenager too. We call her our German daughter. She’s been living with us for the past 10 months. Next week, she leaves us to go home. You never know what the experience will bring when you permit someone to share your home and your lives for a year. We hoped for the best, and with our year coming to a close, I can say we got it. We gained another member of family, albeit one that lives more than 4,000 miles away. I will always think of Zarah as our German daughter.

For more on the experience, please read my wife’s thoughts on her blog.

As for Zarah, this is not, “Auf Weidersein,” but, “Wir werden du bald sehen.”

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Sex at work: test your knowledge! — from Robin Shea’s Employment and Labor Insider
• Management-Side Firm Whines Because EEOC Mediators Are Doing Their Jobs — from Donna Ballman’s Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home
• The EEOC is Focusing on Systemic Harassment. So Should You. — from Jonathan Segal
• Does Telling Me To Stop Complaining Count As Discrimination? — from Evil Skippy at Work
• Miles on Pregnant Workers Fairness Act — from Phil Miles’s Lawffice Space
• “Racism In The Everydayness” — from Employment Discrimination Report

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• “This man says he’s willing to die so he can post naked pictures without getting fired” — from How Appealing
• Why Social Media is Becoming an HR Issue — from GMS Blog
• Employers crack down on social media abuse — from Business Management Daily
• 20 cool iOS 8 features that Apple barely even mentioned at WWDC 2014 — from Boy Genius Report

HR & Employee Relations

• What Single Policy Could Ease Americans’ Time Crunch? — from Time
• Employment at-will trumps the 2nd Amendment (Yes, you can fire the employee who shoots a gun at work) — from Eric Meyer’s Employer Handbook Blog
• By 2020 Millennials Will Represent 40% of the Workforce. Are You Ready? — from Blogging4Jobs
• Employment Protections for Medical Marijuana — from Minnesota Employer

Wage & Hour

• FLSA Transparency Threat Persists — from Compensation Cafe
• Overhauling overtime — from HR Hero Line
• Telecommuters, Minimum Wage and Overtime — Oh My! — from The Emplawyerologist
• FLSA Overtime, Minimum Wage Lawsuits Continue to Skyrocket — from Wage & Hour Insights

Labor Relations

• One Is the Loneliest Number….But Even Acting Alone Employees May Be Engaged in Concerted Activity — from All in a Day’s Work
• NLRB Round-up: The Long Arm of Labor Law — from Blogging4Jobs
• Threatening the boss: the NLRB weighs in — from Michigan Employment Law Connection
• NLRB Finds Employee’s Profane and Insubordinate Conduct Shielded by Protected Activity — from Labor Relations Today

WIRTW #322 (the “indestructible butterflies” edition)

One of the benefits of writing this blog is that, every once in a while, I get the opportunity to very publicly brag about one of my kids doing something awesome. Today is one of those days.

Last weekend, my 7-year-old, Norah, killed on stage, performing with her band for Strongsville’s School of Rock. The setlist:

• Twist and Shout — The Isley Brothers / The Beatles
• Time Warp — Rocky Horror Picture Show*
• Question — Old 97’s**
• Fortunate Son — Creedence Clearwater Revival

*For the record, even though, as you’ll see in the video, the Time Warp was my daughter’s add to the setlist, she’s never seen the movie. What kind of dad do you think I am? She learned the song from playing Just Dance 4.

**If you’re in the Cleveland area, the Old 97’s are playing the Beachland Ballroom on June 5. I’ll be there (with my wife and daughter). Please say hi if you’re there too.

Here’s the video of Saturday’s performance by Psycho Sister vs. The Indestructible Butterflies (yes, that’s the band’s name):

 

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Two-Undecillion-Dollar Demand Spells Trouble for Au Bon Pain — from Lowering the Bar
• Accommodation of Pregnancy Complications Under the ADA and FMLA — from Minnesota Employer
• Has IBM Found a Way Around the OWBPA and Should Others Follow? — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Employment Litigation Lottery: IBM steps away — from Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
• Should A “Racist Tax” Or Fines Be Levied To Stop Racial Harassment? — from Employment Discrimination Report
• How Much Is Too Much to Settle a Sexual Harassment or Wage and Hour Case? — from Employment Lawyer Blog
• Three employees fired for posing at work in KKK garb and makeshift crosses claim discrimination. Yep. — from Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• Employers, If You Fire for a Facebook Post, Please, Get a Copy of It First! — from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
• You won’t be able to stop reading this Twitter account that sends out random bits of overheard conversations in NYC — from Boy Genius Report

HR & Employee Relations

• Fired for What!? - Jay-Z v. Solange Fight Tape — from Phil Miles’s Lawffice Space
• What to Do When 20 Percent of Your Staff Is Pregnant — from Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• Work-Life Balance: It’s About Choices and the Life You Really Want — from TLNT
• When MERS attacks! Are you ready? — from Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions

Wage & Hour

• How to Avoid Intern Lawsuits this Summer Season — from In House
• The Use of Unpaid Interns: Is It Worth the Risk? — from The Employment Brief
• My Exempt Employee Has No PTO but Needs Time Off — from HR Daily Advisor
• I Don’t Always Round Time Entries, But When I Do...I Follow the FLSA Regs — from Wage & Hour Insights
• The Wage and Hour Litigation Epidemic Continues — from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
• Can an Employer Require a Doctor’s Note for Each Intermittent FMLA Absence? — from Jeff Nowak’s EMLA Insights

Labor Relations

• NLRB Continues to Increase Use of Section 10(J) Injunctions — from Management Memo
• NLRB Invites Briefs on Northwestern Case — from Labor Relations Institute
• Board ALJ Nixes Hooters Work Rules — from Labor Relations Today

WIRTW #305 (the “encore” edition)

In case you haven’t seen the latest and greatest band sweeping Cleveland’s western suburbs, I bring you Norah and the Troopers, courtesy of the Strongsville School of Rock blog (okay, now I’m flat-out shilling like an exuberant dad — full video here: http://youtu.be/IAxcUCleMtg).

And, while I’m shilling, it doesn’t get any better than some from Rhett Miller, the lead singer of The Old 97's (isn't Twitter great?)

So sweet! RT @jonhyman: Some love for my 7 yr old girl killing it on guitar and vocals on The New Kid last weekend? https://t.co/9PPw96WpPL
— Rhett Miller (@rhettmiller) January 23, 2014

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination

• EEOC: That Family Medical History is NONE OF YOUR Business — from Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
• Light Duty Only for Work-Related Injuries – Pregnancy Discrimination? — from The Blue Ink
• Who Is At Risk Of Being Sued Under the ADA? — from Employment Discrimination Report
• Gays can’t be excluded from juries because of sexual orientation, 9th Circuit says — from ABA Journal Daily News
• The EEOC Regulation You Need to Know When Making a “Material Change” to a Separation Agreement — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Discrimination in a word: stereotypes — from Warren & Associates Blog

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• Social media? Anti-harassment? No workplace policy can prevent something this stupid — from Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• Announcing a layoff on Facebook — from Ask a Manager
• Smartphones, Social Media and Sexual Harassment: 5 Steps to Mitigate the Risks of Hostile Work Environment Claims in the Workplace — from Employment Law Lookout
• 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Bloggers Have First Amendment Protection — from Shear on Social Media Law
• Internet Harassment Is Nothing New — from The Daily Beast
• Struggling at the (Computer) Games of Life — from Harvard Business Review

HR & Employee Relations

• We Don’t Hire Jerks. Period. — from Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• After Your “Daddy Days” End — from Harvard Business Review
• 3 HR Lessons I Learned In Vienna — from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
• Employer Liability for Distracted Workers and Drivers is Plentiful — from Matt Austin Labor Law
• 3 Ways Letters of Reference Cause Problems for Employers — from California Employment Law
• Why the COOs of Yahoo and Family Dollar Stores Have Been Fired for Poor Performance But Will Get Millions in Severance - Further Adventures in “With” and “Without Cause” Terminations under Executive Employment Agreements — from Suits by Suits
• Doctors to sick people: “Stay home!” — from The Human Race Horses

Wage & Hour

• Raiders Cheerleader Files Wage and Hour Lawsuit — from Phil Miles’ Lawffice Space
• FLSA Companionship Services Exemption Will Narrow in 2015 — from Minnesota Employer
• Deciding How Much Employees and Owners Should Make — from You’re the Boss Blog
• 3 Ways Problems Arise With Employee Leave Tracking — from HR Daily Advisor
• Wage and Hour Compliance Priorities for 2014 — from Pennsylvania Labor and Employment Blog
• Employee stock ownership plans: Pros and cons for engaging employees — from Employment Intelligence

Labor Relations

• Don’t Believe The Hype When It Comes to NLRB Claims — from The HR Capitalist, Kris Dunn
• Give ‘Em The Boot! — from Labor Relations Institute

Stand by your employees: an ode to Norah and the Troopers

For the past nine months, my daughter has been taking guitar lessons at School of Rock in Strongsville. This past fall, we upped her from private lessons to the performance program, which, for the beginning students, is known as Rock 101. Her band started with four other kids, but quickly dwindled to just Norah, as the others bailed for various reasons. With a band of only one, the school initially suggested canceling the program for this session. Knowing my daughter, and believing both that she’d want to continue and would be comfortable even as the only child in the band, I asked that the show go on. And it did. And, what a show she gave this past weekend. Here are the results of her hard work.

I have some people to thank, and then I’ll get to the lesson of today’s post (so you don’t think I’m just using this space to shamelessly brag about the awesomeness of my 7-year-old daughter, playing to a standing-room-only house — and, yes, she was tears-to-my-eyes awesome). Thanks to John Koury, the GM of the Strongsville School of Rock, and Shelley Norehad, the school’s owner, for letting Norah do her thing, all by herself, and not cancelling the program as her band mates dropped out. Thank you also to Norah’s amazing guitar teacher, Ed Sotelo. And, finally, thank you Norah’s band: Kayleigh Hyland (bass, keys, and backing vocals, and also the Rock 101 director), Donald Pelc (guitar), and Dominic Velioniskis (drums).

Here’s the takeaway for employers. Stick with your employees, especially in times of difficulty and adversity. They might just surprise you, and may even do something amazing. It would have been very easy for School of Rock to decide that they couldn’t make money on a program of one, and tell us that Norah would have to wait until the Spring for her first Rock 101 experience. Instead, they embraced the enthusiasm and work ethic of a 7-year-old girl and let the show go on. As a result, they allowed her to walk off the stage with a club full of strangers chanting her name. (Contact me for booking info).

WIRTW #304 (the “happy life” edition)

I sometimes use this weekly space to get personal. Today will be one of those posts.

My 5-year-old son, Donovan, was born with Noonan Syndrome. NS is a variably expressed, multisystem genetic disorder, occurring in every 1 in 1,000 – 2,500 births. In Donovan’s manifestation, he has, among other things, pulmonary valve stenosis and a platelet function disorder, and is, and will likely always be, small in stature (although given that I’m not quite 5’ 7” and my wife not quite 4’ 11”, the genetic height cards were stacked against him anyway). We are extraordinarily thankful that Donovan seems to have dodged the developmental and learning disorders that can occur. As we have learned in the five years since his diagnosis, however, something new is always around the bend. (For more information on Noonan Syndrome, please visit the website for the Noonan Syndrome Foundation, an organization to which I am proud to volunteer my time as its outside counsel.)

A few months ago Donovan caught some of Life According to Sam, the stunning and moving HBO documentary chronicling the life of Sam Berns, his struggle with Progeria, and his family’s quest for better understanding of, and cure for, this rare genetic disorder. Donovan, whose television diet usually revolves around SpongeBob and Pixar, became transfixed by this very adult story. After watching most of it in silence, he turned to my wife and me and asked, “Am I going to die like that boy?” It was our first real glimpse that Donovan has an understanding of the medical issues with which he lives.

Last Friday, Sam Berns died. A few months before his passing, he gave a Ted Talk, entitled, My Philosophy for a Happy Life. It is well worth 12:45 of your time.

We should all embrace the small things, and live a happier life as a result.

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Can Sexual “Banter” Morph Into Sexual Harassment? The Stakes Are High — from Employment Discrimination Report
• Planning to fire expectant mom? Prove problems predated pregnancy — from Business Management Daily
• Counter-Intuitive Employment Law: When Should You Tell an Employee to Talk to an Attorney? — from Minnesota Employer
• Punter’s legal claims may be blocked — from EntertainHR
• When gossip becomes harassment — from EmployerLINC

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• How to Respond to a Social Media Crisis — from Social Media Examiner
• Should You Share Your Employees’ Sins on Twitter? — from Inc.com

HR & Employee Relations

• In 2014, Resolve to Make Your Business Human Again — from Harvard Business Review
• Be Nice to Everyone. It’s Worth It — from Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• 2014 HR Compliance Guide — from ERC Insights Blog
• “I QUIT!!! There’s an app for that too!?! — from Michigan Employment Law
• Why A-Rod Will Strikeout on His Appeal and What Employers Can Learn — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• What Chris Christie’s traffic scandal can teach us about workplace culture — from Warren & Associates Blog
• Three workplace lessons from Chris Christie’s “Bridgegate” — from Robin “Shea’s Employment and Labor Insider
• 6 Things That Should Go into Your Anti-Bullying Policy — from i-Sight Investigation Software Blog

Wage & Hour

• Worrying About Lawsuits? You Should Be Focusing on Compliance Instead — from TLNT
• General Managers Beware: You Might Have to Pay Up — from Corporate Counsel
• “Lawsuits—I Get It! But What Should We DO?” — from Wage and Hour Laws Blog
• Time Spent Dressing and Undressing for the Job is “Work”?! — from The Emplawyerologist
• If weather keeps employees from work, must they be paid? — from MonsterThinking
• FMLA FAQ: Can Excess Trips to the Potty Be Counted as FMLA Leave? — from Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights

Labor Relations

• Separation of Powers Dominates Noel Canning Arguments Before the Supreme Court — from Labor Relations Today
• Noel Canning and Recess Appointments — from Concurring Opinions
• Four reasons why Noel Canning still matters in a post-nuclear world — from Constitution Daily

WIRTW #301 (the “shattered dreams” edition)

When I was 9 years old, I ruined Christmas for a neighbor when I spilled the beans that Santa Claus wasn’t real. I still feel bad about it to this day.

Flash forward thirty years. Buzz Lightyear has played a huge role in my family. He’s my 5-year-old son’s hero. He helped get Donovan through some tough medical issues in his young life. To Donovan, Buzz is very real … or was very real until his Kindergarten teacher thought it was a good idea to share with the class that the characters at Disney World aren’t real, but just people wearing costumes.

I was stunned. Where the hell does anyone get the right to ruin my kid’s dream. If he wants to think Buzz Lightyear is as real as President Obama, who am I to say otherwise. What’s the harm in a little boy having a dream? When did kids stop having the right to be kids?

After talking to the teacher, I learned that it’s part of the “common core curriculum” to discuss the difference between real and imaginary, and some of the kids asked about Disney as an example. Could she have handled it differently? Absolutely. Should have softened the blow or deflected the question so that the kids who still want to believe in the Disney magic can do so? Yup. Regardless, I remain bummed that part of my child’s childhood has been taken away.

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Smoking: Many States Try Snuffing Out Employment Bias Against US Smokers — from Employment Intelligence
• Telling An Employee They Need to Lose Weight is NOT Discrimination — from TLNT

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• The Spy Who Loved Me? IKEA and Surveillance Laws — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Ownership of Business-Related Social Media Accounts — from Socially Aware Blog
• Does BYOD = Bring Your Own Dangers? — from Corporate Counsel
• Employee Owned Tablets and Technology Devices: Managing the Risks and Rewards Starts with BYOD Policy — from Jason Shinn’s Michigan Employment Law Advisor
• Non-competes in the world of social media: LinkedIn notifications are not “solicitation” — from Warren & Associates Blog

HR & Employee Relations

• The Risk of Fishing for Support in an Employee Discipline Matter — from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
• Sometimes you have to fire your “star.” Here’s why. — from Robin Shea’s Employment and Labor Insider
• Next Year’s Headache for Employers — from Jottings By An Employer’s Lawyer
• What A Christmas Party Can Reveal About Company Culture — from Compensation Café
• Crowdsourcing Illustrative Examples of “At-Will Employment” — from Workplace Prof Blog
• Can My Employer Trash Me In References? 6 things you need to know about job references — from Donna Ballman’s Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home
• Never Say Goodbye to a Great Employee — from Harvard Business Review

Wage & Hour

• Wage and Hour Compliance: Look Out, Here Comes 2014! — from Workplace Insights
• Supreme Court May Hear FLSA Case Finding Owner Personally Liable For FLSA Violations — from Overtime Lawyer Blog
• To Moot Or Not To Moot—The First FLSA Case In Texas To Grapple With The Genesis Healthcare Ruling — from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
• Wage & Hour Division Obtains Nearly $250 Million in Back Wages — from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
• Can Employees Sue Over 401(k) Losses? Supreme Court to Decide — from WSJ Law Blog
• SCOTUS on ERISA Plan Limitations Provisions — from Phil Miles’ Lawffice Space
• Two Ohio Cases Highlight That When It Comes to the FMLA, Employers Need to Set Their Radars to Detect Potential Interference Claims — from Employer Law Report

Labor Relations

• NLRB’s New Top Attorney Threatens to Overturn Employer-Friendly E-Mail Decision — from The Blue Ink
• Department of Labor’s Persuader Rule Postponed to March 2014 — from Labor Relations Today
• Employers Beware: 2014 NLRB is Unrestrained and Ready for Activism — from Employment Law Watch
• What is “Just Cause” Termination for Unionized Employees? — from Minnesota Employer

SpongeBob SquarePants, employment law professor

On a cold, snowy night in the suburbs of Cleveland, what is there to do besides snuggle on the couch with your 5-year-old son to watch the world premier of SpongeBob, You’re Fired? That’s exactly what Donovan and I did last night.

Who knew that such high art would provide the inspiration for today’s post?

The story begins with Mr. Krabs firing SpongeBob from his fry-cook job at The Krusty Krab to save a whole five cents by not paying his wage. Minimum wage be damned, SpongeBob offers to work for free to keep his job. Amazingly, the historically cheap Krabs turns him down, telling SpongeBob that he already looked into it, and it’s illegal to let employees work for free.

Bravo to Eugene Krabs for bringing the plight of the unpaid intern to the forefront of pop culture. Unless you meet the very limited test for an unpaid intern, if you have employees, you must pay them. Employees are not allowed to volunteer their time or work for free.

Employment Law Blog Carnival: The Summer Blockbuster Edition

It’s hard to believe, but the summer blockbuster—the high budget, slickly marketed, big action, and bigger box-office-return movie that has everyone talking—was born 38 years ago tomorrow. On June 20, 1975, Jaws hit theaters. It earned $470 million total, which, I don’t have to tell you, is a lot of chum, especially in 1975 dollars.  In hindsight, Jaws changed the film industry by changing how we go the the movies. There had been plenty of movies before Jaws that made lots of money, but after Jaws, movie studios began to plan their entire annual release schedule around the release of one big summer movie.

In honor of this week marking the anniversary of Jaws, I present the Summer Blockbuster edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival.

Jaws (1975): $470,653,000 total worldwide box-office 

Is there anything scarier than a the world’s biggest great white shark terrorizing a sleepy New England beach community? How about reviewing 403(b) plan documents? Yikes! According to Employee Benefits Unplugged, you might be able to put that fear away, as the IRS Paves the Way for “Boilerplate” 403(b) Plan Documents.

 

Star Wars (1977): $775,398,007

Despite the tense battle between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original trilogy’s original film, you could sense the mutual respect that rested at the heart of their complicated relationship. At The HR Bartender, Sharlyn Lauby (along with yours truly) shares how Employee Respect Is an Unfair Labor Practice.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): $389,925,971 

In the original Raiders…, Indiana Jones had to overcome some spectacular traps. None is more famous, though, than the giant boulder that chased him out of the cave in the film’s opening sequence. Of course, Indy escaped. The Emplawyerologist helps you avoid the 10 most common pitfalls of the I-9 form.

 

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): $792,910,554

Is there anything more beautiful than E.T. healing Elliot’s finger? Ask Mike Haberman, who, over at Omega HR Solutions, offers us The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Hiring only Beautiful People.

 

Ghostbusters (1984): $291,632,124

I ain’t afraid of those ghosts. Apparently, the 3rd Circuit ain’t afraid of those NLRB recess appointments, according to Third Circuit Agrees with Noel Canning; Is the 2nd Court to Invalidate NLRB Recess Appointments from Employment Essentials.

 

Back to the Future (1985): $383,874,862 

Is there anything more depressing that traveling 30 years in the past only to find out that you mom has the hots for you? Ask Heather Bussing, who, over at The HR Examiner, writes about Depression and Work.

 

Top Gun (1986): $356,830,601 

You will be the top gun of employers if you document your employees’ performance and disciplinary problems (says CPEhr’s Small Biz HR Blog), successfully enforce termination clauses in employment agreements (says First Reference Talks), and provide for your employees bad-mouthing your company online (says Jessica Miller-Merrell’s Workology).

 

Batman (1989): $411,348,924 

“Where does he get those wonderful toys,” asks Jack Nicholson’s Joker. Some employers feel like the joke is on them when dealing lately with the EEOC. John Holmquist’s Michigan Employment Law Connection shares some insight into the Agency’s thought process in A conversation with the EEOC.

 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989): $474,171,806

The third installment in the saga of Indiana Jones concerns the quest for the Holy Grail, the mystical chalice out of which Jesus supposedly drank at the Last Supper. Blogging4Jobs, in Creating a Company “Bible” Can Save Time and Attorney’s Fees, suggests that your company create its own grail of best practices and corporate knowledge to aid your attorney in representing you in litigation.

 

Jurassic Park (1993): $969,851,882 

You want scary? How about being chased by an honest to goodness T-Rex? Or, courtesy of Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider, Is your reason for termination honest, logical, and complete? If not, you may get a scary result in your discrimination case.

 

The Lion King (1994): $951,583,777 

The circle of life starts with pregnancy. Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook shares the most cockamamie excuse evah for firing a pregnant employee.

 

Finding Nemo (2003): $921,743,261

Dory tried to talk to the whale. She should have listening to its warning. Fitzpatrick on Employment Law reports on a different type of warning, in Fourth Circuit Holds That Supervisor’s “Warning” Constitutes Adverse Action.

 

The Dark Knight (2008): $1,004,558,444 

The Dark Knight has some spectacular violence, most of which is wrought by the film’s amazing antagonist, The Joker. How do you handle home-grown violence that permeates your workplace? Ask the author of this piece at Musings, discussing a Victim of Domestic Abuse Fired from Teaching Job.

 

Toy Story 3 (2010): $1,063,171,911

I live in a Toy Story world. Just ask my almost-five-year-old, Donovan, and his collection of a few-dozen Buzz Lightyears of various sizes and features. For this reason, no list of summer blockbusters compiled by me would be complete without including the most successful animated film of all time, Toy Story 3. The movie concerns a jail break from Sunnyside Daycare by Andy’s beloved toys. If they were real criminals, and the city of Seattle had its way, employers would be limited in learning of their conviction records, says Washington Workplace Law’s Seattle Bans Consideration of Criminal Background in Early Stages of Hiring Process.

 

Black Swan (2010): $329,398,046

Okay, so Black Swan neither premiered in the summer, nor is it properly classified as a blockbuster (although $300+ million in international box-office and a Best Actress Oscar for Natalie Portman is nothing to sneeze at). There is no movie, though, more appropriate to discuss the recent happenings with the legality and illegality of unpaid internships. See Black Swan Unpaid Interns Win FLSA Claim from Phil Miles’s Lawffice Space, and Top 6 Signs Your Unpaid Internship Should Be Paid from Donna Ballman’s Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home.

 

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Robin Shea, the author of the fabulous Employment & Labor Insider, will host next month’s Employment Law Blog Carnival, on July 17. If you want to participate, email her a link to your employment-law-related blog post by July 12. If you want to host a future edition of the Carnival, email its curator, Eric Meyer.

Because I hosted this month’s Carnival, WIRTW will not run this Friday, and will return with to its regularly featured slot next Friday, with #279.