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 Syndr...
Separation of protected activity and discipline can protect employers from retaliation claims
By Jon Hyman
Can an employee succeed on a retaliation claim if the decision maker did not know about the alleged protected activity at the time the emplo...
You can’t always get what you want … but even when you do it’s an “adverse employment action”
By Jon Hyman
Suppose an employee applies for a transfer to an open position. The company decides to hire an external candidate and passes on transferring...
You might be a defendant if … you ask applicants for a family medical history
By Jon Hyman
According to this press release , a New York nursing and rehabilitation center will pay $370,000 to settle a genetic discrimination lawsuit ...
Cursing as religious harassment—context matters
By Jon Hyman
With The year was 1985. I was 12 years and spent the summer at overnight camp. When you spend 8 weeks alone in the woods with a dozen other ...
WIRTW #303 (the “toilet humor” edition)
By Jon Hyman
True story. I just learned of a company (not a client) that maintains two sets of bathrooms—one for its “office” employees and one for its “...
Blackballing as retaliation
By Jon Hyman
Do you remember Diana Wang, the unpaid intern who sued Hearst Corporation , claiming that the publisher violated that Fair Labor Standard Ac...
Tread lightly if banning workplace gossip, says NLRB Judge
By Jon Hyman
I recently came across a blog post that answered the question of how to deal with workplace gossip . One solution you might want to avoid is...
A weighty lesson on pregnancy discrimination
By Jon Hyman
It’s the first full week of January, which means that lots of people are attempting to execute on their New Year’s resolutions. Many of thos...
It’s time to update your severe-weather policy
By Jon Hyman
How bad is the weather going to be in Cleveland today? It’s so cold that even the Horseshoe Casino is closed . You can’t even get hot at the...
WIRTW #302 (the "peace and quiet" edition)
By Jon Hyman
It’s been a nice couple of weeks of relative peace and quiet (or at least as much peace and quiet as one can get in one’s house during winte...
Lessons from children’s lit: A New Year’s resolution
By Jon Hyman
Among the toys and the clothes, my kids always receive books for Christmas. This year, the books included The Day the Crayons Quit . This bo...
The 12 Days of Employment-Law Christmas
By Jon Hyman
This time last year, I published a song, “The 12 Days of Employment Law Christmas.” In the last year, though, I’ve gained a lot of new reade...
WIRTW #301 (the “shattered dreams” edition)
By Jon Hyman
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 t...
Accuracy counts in drafting job descriptions (a lesson on ADA reasonable accommodations)
By Jon Hyman
Do you have written job descriptions for all of your employees? Henschel v. Clare County Road Commission (6th Cir. 12/13/13) illustrates t...
FAMILY Act would provide paid leave for employees
By Jon Hyman
Tony Soprano once said, “Family: they’re the only ones you can depend on.” If Congressional Democrats get their wish, American workers will ...
Does the ADA cover organ donors?
By Jon Hyman
Every now and again I come across a case that offends my sensibilities. Rope v. Auto-Chlor Sys. of Wash., Inc. (Cal. Ct. App. 10/16/13) is...
Is infertility fertile grounds for disability discrimination claims?
By Jon Hyman
I’ve written before about employers getting themselves in trouble for pregnancy discrimination for firing employees while undergoing fertili...
WIRTW #300 (the “300th” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Like a Spartan soldier raging into battle against the army of the Persian King Xerxes, I have ripped through 300 of these end-of-week compi...
A Festivus for the rest of us (at work)
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, Evil Skippy at Work answered a reader’s question about whether an employer can prevent its employees from celebrating Festivus i...
Is social media a valid vehicle for harassment complaints?
By Jon Hyman
A nuclear-medicine technician posted the following three items on her Facebook wall: (At 9:00 am) Sara DeBord loves it when my boss adds a...
If you’re taking an employee’s deposition, don’t charge them for a day off work
By Jon Hyman
Today’s blog post is a multiple-choice quiz. An employee takes a day off work to attend his own deposition, which you are taking in defense...
Medical marijuana and the Americans with Disabilities Act
By Jon Hyman
Bailey v. Real Time Staffing Servs. (6th Cir. 10/29/13) involves an employee fired for a positive random drug test for marijuana. Unknown ...
WIRTW #299 (the “Yuletide confessions” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I have confession to make. I’m a Jew who loves Christmas. I knew it from an early age. We’d leave temple on a December Friday night and swin...
When an extended leave of absence is NOT a reasonable accommodation
By Jon Hyman
Conventional wisdom says that when a sick or injured employee asks for time off, you should grant it within reason . For one, the EEOC says ...