"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…." This is perhaps the most famous opening line in the history of literature, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. It's also an apt description of how two tech giants—Apple and Twitter—recently handled the issue of employee nondisclosure agreements.
Monday, December 12, 2022
A tale of two employee nondisclosure agreements
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…." This is perhaps the most famous opening line in the history of literature, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. It's also an apt description of how two tech giants—Apple and Twitter—recently handled the issue of employee nondisclosure agreements.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Paper plant settles case of egregious racial harassment with EEOC for $385,000
Packaging Corporation of America has agreed to pay the EEOC $385,000 to settle the racial harassment claims of two African American employees.
The allegations are egregious (per the EEOC's news release).
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Sunday, November 27, 2022
There’s nothing wrong about wanting not to have fun at work
A French employee, fired for refusing to participate in after-work drinks and other "team building" activities, has won the legal right "not to be fun" at work.
The man, named in his lawsuit only as "Mr. T," was fired for "professional incompetence" — specifically his refusal to adhere to the company's "fun" values. According to the Court of Cassation (France's highest court), the company's "fun" values included regular obligatory social events that included "excessive alcoholism encouraged by colleagues who made very large quantities of alcohol available," plus "practices pushed by colleagues involving promiscuity, bullying, and incitement to various excesses."
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, October 10, 2022
A court was not having it when lawyers tried to victim-blame a sexual harassment plaintiff
One of our primary roles as attorneys is to protect our clients from their worse instincts.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Show this story to your employees who start clamoring for a union
When a labor union is engaged in organizing your employees, you are allowed to present facts to your employees to attempt to convince them to vote union "no." Here's a big ol' fact for you to file away if the need ever arises.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, October 4, 2022
What are you doing to address Bullying Prevention Month in your workplace?
October is Bullying Prevention Month.
As the Supreme Court has famously said, our workplace discrimination laws are not meant to be a "general civility code." In layman's terms, our laws allow people to be jerks to each other at work as long as it's not because of a protected reason.
The question, however, is not whether the law protects the bullied, but instead what you should be doing about it in your workplace.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, September 26, 2022
Workplace romance vs. workplace harassment
The Boston Celtics have suspended their head coach, Ime Udoka, for the entire 2022-23 season.
His offense — it was initially reported that he had violated the team’s policies by engaging in a consensual intimate relationship with a female staff member.
This punishment seemed … harsh. A year for a consensual relationship? If you don’t want your head coach dating staff, why not just direct him to end the affair with a stern warning not to let it happen again, instead of a year-long suspension? In fact, it seemed so harsh that I knew that there had to be more to this story.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Pro athletes should never get a pass on harassment
Kenny Lofton is one of the most beloved players in history of the Cleveland Guardians, née Indians. He spent the best years of 17-year career anchoring center field for the Cleveland teams that won six AL Central titles and earned two World Series berths.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, August 23, 2022
“Gaslighting” in the workplace
“That’s not how I told you to complete that project. Why did you do it that way? It’s all wrong.”
“Why didn’t you show up to the meeting? Of course I invited you.”
“Harassment complaint? You never made any harassment complaint.”
These are all examples of gaslighting in the workplace.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, August 18, 2022
How do you respond when your employees are threatened?
Boston Children's Hospital has a scary situation on its hand. Its hospital staff has received aggressive phone calls, emails, and death threats. It's all in reaction to inaccurate information posted on conservative websites and shared across social media about its transgender surgery program.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, August 11, 2022
Consistency matters when applying anti-harassment rules
Can an employer legally fire an employee who writes "whore board" on an overtime sign-up sheet? Let's explore.
Following unsuccessful negotiations for a new union contract, Constellium unilaterally implemented a new overtime policy that required employees to sign up for overtime on a sheet posted on a bulletin board outside the lunchroom.
One employee, Jack Williams, went a step further. He wrote "whore board" on the sign-up sheet. Constellium then fired him for "willfully and deliberately engaging in insulting and harassing conduct."
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Accountability starts at the top, even for the NFL
NFL disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson has suspended Deshaun Watson for six games for his violation of the league's personal conduct policy based on allegations by four masseuses that he solicited prostitution by paying for sex acts.
Some see six games as a slap on the wrist. I don't, at least in the environment that bound Judge Robinson and her ruling.
While I don't in any way condone Watson's misconduct, the NFL would place itself in serious legal jeopardy by imposing a suspension that encourages Watson or his union to litigate.
Don’t be mad at Watson for getting off light; be mad at the NFL for its long history of giving white male owners a free pass for their own sexual misconduct. The league created the legal environment that let Watson (a Black player) off.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, July 25, 2022
Cursing in the workplace
According to one survey, 57% of American employees admit to swearing at work. (Count me in the "yes" column.)
Where is the line between swearing as harmless workplace banter and swearing as harmful unlawful harassment? The seminal case is Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, which involved the female plaintiff's offense to the salty language used by male co-workers in nearby cubicles.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, June 16, 2022
The 7th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2022” is … the murder enabler
"It is with a deep sadness and a heavy heart I share one of our students, Riley Whitelaw, passed away over the weekend. Currently, we are unable to share additional information."
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Breaches of confidentiality during internal investigations chill future reports of workplace misconduct
"Nothing you share will be attributed to you and your feedback will remain anonymous."
Charlotte Cook says her name and details of conversations about her time at BrewDog—which focused on workplace safety, problems with human resources, and the circumstances under which she left the company—were provided by [HR consultant] Wiser to BrewDog without her knowledge or consent.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, April 25, 2022
Mask mandates might be gone, but maskual harassment isn’t
Workplaces, state and local governments, and the CDC have relegated mask mandates to the dustbin of Covid history. But just because people are no longer required to wear masks anywhere doesn't mean that some people aren't choosing to do so on their own. The end of mask mandates, however, has not ended the culture wars that have surrounded mask for the past two-plus years.
According to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 56% of Americans still favor mask mandates on planes, trains, and public transportation, 49% for workers who interact with the public in restaurants and other places, and also 49% for crowded public events. (My own poll on LinkedIn revealed a smaller 36% still in favor of mask mandates on planes and public transportation.)For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Harassment complaints don’t require a “perfect" response, just a “reasonable” one
Ronald Burns, a maintenance technician at Berry Global, was the victim of three instances of racial harassment over the span of 17 days.
- Burns found a piece of cardboard in his locker that read, "dance monkey." He complained to HR.
In response, HR spent several days reviewing security camera footage in an attempt to discovery the perpetrator, which it could not do. The plant manager also met with the entire shift and advised that such harassment would not be tolerated.
- Four days later Burns found a noose hanging from the lock on his locker. He again reported the harassment, this time to his supervisor and to the company's ethics hotline.
In response, the plant manager gave Burns the weekend off with pay. Pre- and post-shift walkthroughs of the locker room were also started to seek any offensive items. HR interviewed 19 employees but could not lock down a suspect. Finally, the company adjusted the cameras to offer better coverage.
- 13 days later, Burns found yet another piece of cardboard in his locker, but this time it read, "die n*****." He again reported it to harassment.
After reviewing more camera footage, the company narrowed its investigation to one suspect, present in the locker room prior to all three incidents. All employees were also re-interviewed, and the suspect was suspended without pay even though he could not be confirmed as the culprit. Finally, Burns was offered a transfer to a different shift, which he declined.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Are you an ally, or are you just afraid of being canceled?
I tell my students, "When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game."
I think of this quote often when I think about what it means to be an ally at work.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2022
The nuts and bolts of your company code of conduct
Yesterday I explained why your company needs a code of conduct separate from or adjunct to your already-existing anti-harassment policy.
Today, I'm back to explain what it should contain, to whom it should apply, how violations are addressed, and how it should be disseminated.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Does your craft brewery or other company have a code of conduct?
Meet Brienne Allan, a brewer at Notch Brewing in Salem, Mass. In May 2021 she asked a simple question in an Instagram Story— "What sexist comments have you experienced?"
What followed were hundreds upon hundreds of stories of sex-based discrimination, harassment, and other abuse.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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