Don’t forget to check social networks during your workplace investigations
Cleveland.com reports that a former bi-racial employee has sued a Steak ‘n Shake restaurant for race and disability discrimination: A dis...
NLRB re-affirms that workplace policies cannot restrict non-work-time solicitations
By Jon Hyman
Have you recently reviewed your company’s Electronic Communications Policy, and other policies that regulate how employees use your email an...
WIRTW #379 (the “that’s showbiz” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I was supposed to be in New York City today being interviewing for tonight’s episode of 20/20 . I would have discussed the workplace implica...
BREAKING: The shoe has fallen on NLRB’s joint employer decision
By Jon Hyman
While the outcome isn’t necessarily a surprise, the decision nonetheless will be a shock to business’ systems. In a landmark 3-2 decision— B...
John Oliver takes on LGBT discrimination, and gets it 100% correct
By Jon Hyman
HBO’s last week with John Oliver is fast becoming my favorite “news” show on television. This past week, John took on the issue of LGBT disc...
OSHA’s new burden of proof is a big burden for employers
By Jon Hyman
Today, I’m going to talk about burdens of proof, a topic that might seem dry, but is vitally important to employers. Last month I provided s...
When one act is enough for harassment
By Jon Hyman
To be actionable, the offensiveness of alleged harassment needs to be either pervasive (that is, happening often) or severe (that is, shocki...
“The devil made me do it” is not a defense to insidious wage-and-hour violations
By Jon Hyman
Late last week, the Department of Labor announced that it had filed a wage-and-hour lawsuit against Akron, Ohio, televangelist Ernest Angley...
WIRTW #378 (the “top chef” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I’ve never used this space to write a restaurant review, until today. While in Germany, my wife and I dined at Zur Tränke , a quaint little ...
Seize the opportunity to offer accommodations for medical treatments
By Jon Hyman
A Mississippi home healthcare provider has agreed to a $100,000 settlement with the EEOC for a disability-discrimination lawsuit. The EEOC’s...
Another viewpoint on overtime for undocumented work time
By Jon Hyman
In Garcia v. SAR Food of Ohio , an Ohio federal court rejected an employer’s attempt to dismiss an off-the-clock wage-and-hour claim, becaus...
NLRB, college athletes, and the case that doesn’t really matter
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the NLRB closed its book on the attempt of Northwestern University’s scholarship football players to unionize, not with a thud bu...
12 things I learned on my summer vacation
By Jon Hyman
I spent the last two weeks in Europe. Germany to be exact, and to be more precise, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen , with jaunts to Paris and Munic...
WIRTW #377 (the “…all I ever wanted” edition)
By Jon Hyman
According to Nielsen Consumer Research , over the past year 52% of people did not take all their paid vacation days, leaving an average of 7...
Even lone-wolf activity is concerted, according to NLRB
By Jon Hyman
Bonus post today. We know that the National Labor Relations Act protects employees who engage in protected concerted activity from retaliat...
You need to pay employees if you know, or should know, they are working overtime
By Jon Hyman
Consider Garcia v. SAR Food of Ohio (N.D. Ohio 7/6/15) a cautionary tale. SAR owns and operates food-court Japanese restaurants. The cour...
Retaliation alphabet-soup
By Jon Hyman
Employers typically think of retaliation in terms of the big employment statutes: Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, the FMLA, and the FLSA. Yet,...
The unintended and unfortunate consequence of wage-and-hour reforms
By Jon Hyman
Wage-and-hour reforms are all the rage. Yet, with reform comes a potential unforeseen price—businesses that simply cannot afford to stay in ...
Happy birthday ADA
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the Americans with Disabilities Act turned 25 years old. We've come a long way in the past 25 years, from a statute intended ...
WIRTW #376 (the “…I’ll only disappoint you…” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I thought I’d try something different today by bringing you a musician I’ve recently discovered— Courtney Barnett . She’s a guitar playing,...
Does smoke always equal fire in harassment cases?
By Jon Hyman
Consider the following, taken from Briggs v. University of Detroit-Mercy (E.D. Mich. 5/27/14) , and then let’s talk. Plaintiff Carlos Bri...