How to avoid a discrimination lawsuit in 5 easy steps
Don’t change your explanation about why an employee was fired mid-stream while in the midst of defending a discrimination claim. ...
Do you know? Ohio’s Civil Theft Statute
By Jon Hyman
Do you know? Ohio has a specific statute that allows for one to sue civilly for theft. Not only can one recover the amounts stolen, but als...
‘Tis the season… for employee theft
By Jon Hyman
According to last week's Wall Street Journal Career Journal , theft by employees may be reaching epidemic proportions. In the wake...
WIRTW #59
By Jon Hyman
I had planned on doing an elaborate post on the inherent risks to employers from holiday parties. The Connecticut Employment Law Blog and t...
More on “do overs”: the unconditional offer of reinstatement
By Jon Hyman
As I mentioned on Monday ( Do-overs ), an unconditional offer of reinstatement can be a useful tool to minimize or even avoid liability in a...
Union sit-in illustrates working of WARN Act
By Jon Hyman
Last week, Republic Windows and Doors, a Chicago manufacturer, announced that because Bank of America had cancelled its line of credit, it w...
More Employee Free Choice Act ads
By Jon Hyman
Business organizations have decided to fight fire with fire, putting out their own advertisements on the dangers of the Employee Free Choice...
Do you know? Child labor rules
By Jon Hyman
While I was watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with my family and something struck me. The elves making toys for Santa looked awfully ...
Court allows a “do-over” to defeat discrimination claim
By Jon Hyman
I vividly remember playing baseball in the street in front of my house as a child. Every once in a while something would interfere with the ...
WIRTW #58
By Jon Hyman
Or what I’ve been reading for the last two weeks, thanks to last week’s Thanksgiving hiatus. According to Roger Matus’ Death by Email , th...
Ex-employees are not covered by the ADA for handling of post-employment benefits
By Jon Hyman
In McKnight v. General Motors (6th Cir. 12/4/08) , the 6th Circuit was presented with the question of whether disabled former employees hav...
Governor’s gaffe and family responsibilities
By Jon Hyman
I’m a huge fan of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. We share a common passion – Philadelphia sports teams. Although, I’ve never been involve...
Take care in submitting health insurance applications
By Jon Hyman
In Medical Mutual of Ohio v. k. Amelia Enterprises (6th Circuit 12/2/08) , the 6th Circuit dismissed a claim brought by Medical Mutual agai...
Do you know? EEOC filings reach a record number
By Jon Hyman
Do you know? In 2008, the EEOC received 95,402 private sector charges of discrimination, which is a 15.2% increase from 2007. Given the curr...
The Employee Free Choice Act publicity machine ramps up
By Jon Hyman
Last week, I was jarred out of a comfortable evening of family television by the following commercial: We’ve grown accustomed to endless...
The “Cat’s Paw” is alive and well in the 6th Circuit -- Pro se plaintiff’s trial win affirmed by Sixth Circuit
By Jon Hyman
File this case under the category of never underestimate your opponent. The 6th Circuit has affirmed a trial court’s $120,000.50 verdict in ...
Do you know? Year-end bonus payments may affect overtime rates
By Jon Hyman
Do you know? Year-end bonus payments could count as part of a non-exempt employee’s regular rate of pay, thereby increasing the overtime pre...
New FMLA Regulations: What do they mean to notice and designation obligations to employees?
By Jon Hyman
Administration of FMLA leave probably causes more headaches for HR professionals than any other facet of their jobs. As if the FMLA is not c...
WIRTW #57
By Jon Hyman
Two topics dominate the employment law headlines this week – the new FMLA regulations and the continued debate over the prospects for the Em...
Hidden cameras pose potential problems
By Jon Hyman
The D.C. Circuit is considering an appeal by 16 former Anheuser-Busch employees who were disciplined or fired after the company installed hi...
Summary of new FMLA Regulations: Military Family Leave
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I examined 10 key changes in the new FMLA regulations to the legacy FMLA provisions . Today, I’ll break down the new regulations’...
Summary of new FMLA Regulations: 10 Key Changes
By Jon Hyman
On Monday, November 17, 2008, the Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule to implement the first-ever amendments to the Family an...
Do you know? Compensation for travel time
By Jon Hyman
Do you have employees that travel for work? Do you know that only certain travel time may be considered compensable and therefore paid for? ...
The swift hand of justice
By Jon Hyman
Next time you consider whether you really want to litigate a case, consider the following case study. On Friday, I reported about a case i...
ALERT: New FMLA regulations to be published Monday
By Jon Hyman
The title says it all. Once I've had a chance to digest the new regs (they're over 700 pages) I'll have more to say.
WIRTW #56
By Jon Hyman
The Employee Free Choice Act remains the hot labor and employment law topic. The stat of the week comes courtesy of the Delaware Employmen...
8 common employee handbook mistakes, and how to avoid them
By Jon Hyman
HR Legal News provides a list of its top common mistakes in employee handbooks. The following discusses some of the list, offers some tips ...
“Laying the smackdown” is not an adverse employment action
By Jon Hyman
An adverse employment action in a discrimination case is an action by an employer that effects a significant change in one’s employment stat...
Do you know? Preservation of personnel files
By Jon Hyman
Do you know? In Ohio, employers should preserve personnel files for six years after an employee leaves an organization. Under Ohio Revised ...