OSHA suggests employer best practices for anti-retaliation programs
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published recommended best practices to protect from retaliation employees who repor...
Pets in your workplace? Assess the risks and draft a policy.
By Jon Hyman
A reader recently emailed the following question: Some people need service dogs to get to work. But many more simply want to take the...
SCOTUS to review NLRB ban on class-action waivers
By Jon Hyman
One of the biggest issues on the NLRB’s hit list over the past few years has been class-action waivers. In D.R. Horton , a 3-2 majority of...
WIRTW #444 (the “training” edition)
By Jon Hyman
The workplace training video. I hope yours go better than this example . Here’s what I read this week:
… and an early contender for worst employer of the year
By Jon Hyman
We already have a nominee for worst employee of 2017 , so why not share the love and nominate a worst employer. Drum roll…
Tread carefully if stripping employees of their pay
By Jon Hyman
Wait, not this kind of stripping? Stevens v. Oval Office (E.D. Wisc. 12/29/16) [hat tip: Walter Olson’s Overlawyered ] poses an intere...
Cleveland Clinic doctor feeling ill after anti-vax blog post stirs trouble
By Jon Hyman
A wellness physician at the Cleveland Clinic is in hot water following his blog post on Cleveland.com , in which he argued that parents av...
Failure to follow employer’s reporting rules dooms employee’s FMLA claim
By Jon Hyman
F-M-L-A: four letters that cast fear in the heart of any HR professional. So many rules to follow, so many ways to mess up and cost an emp...
WIRTW #443 (the “gigs” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Holy cow, has it really been three weeks since I last posted a weekly roundup? It’s also early January, which means it’s School of Rock sh...
Mandatory flu shots cost employer bigly
By Jon Hyman
You may recall that in September I reported on a lawsuit the EEOC filed against a Pennsylvania hospital, alleging that it unlawfully fire...
An early contender for employee of the year
By Jon Hyman
It’s only the 4th day of January, and we already have an early contender for employee of the year. I can not do this story any justice be...
Why it doesn’t matter that Ohio’s concealed-carry law removed its discrimination protections
By Jon Hyman
We are going to begin 2017 near where we brought 2016 to a close—gun-owner protections. Shortly before the end of Ohio’s 131st legislati...
The 12 Days of Employment Law Christmas (2016 edition)
By Jon Hyman
For the past four Noels, I've concluded my posting year with “The 12 Days of Employment Law Christmas.” As this has become a year-end tr...
12 myths about independent contractor misclassification
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week, the Department of Labor published a new web guide on the issue of independent contractor misclassifications . The DOL’...
From the archives: Santa’s Employee Handbook
By Jon Hyman
While I’d like to believe that every post I’ve ever written is indelibly embossed on the brain of every person that’s ever read my blog, I u...
Take a gander at my recent cyber security webinar
By Jon Hyman
Today I thought I try something different. Instead of reading what I have to say, I thought I’d give you a chance to listen to what I have ...
WIRTW #442 (the “Good with God” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Any week my favorite band—the Old 97’s —release new music is a week to be celebrated. (I know, Old 97’s music two Fridays in row. Deal wit...
When a self-fondling supervisor earns the nickname “Mr. Bojangles,” it’s not going to end well
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC reports that it has sued Goodwill Industries of the East Bay Area for sexual harassment and disability discrimination, following...
Santa Claus and child labor laws
By Jon Hyman
While I was watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with my family something struck me. The elves working in Santa’s Workshop manufacturing...
Ohio set to maintain stable statewide minimum wage
By Jon Hyman
A bill is on its way to Governor Kasich’s desk for signature that would prohibit any municipality or other political subdivision from ...
Common sense (sort of) prevails in Ohio over gun-owner discrimination law
By Jon Hyman
Last week, I reported on Ohio Senate Bill 199 / Sub. House Bill 48 , which would have elevated “concealed handgun licensure” to a protect...
WIRTW #441 (the “Burl Ives” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Christmas carols and the Old 97’s are two things that make me very happy. Do you know what makes me happier? When the Old 97’s sing a Christ...
Ohio set to elevate gun ownership to a protected employment class #TerribleIdea
By Jon Hyman
How do you get conservative lawmakers to agree to add a protected class to an employment discrimination law? Focus on protecting on gun ow...
7 tips to avoid the holiday party nightmare
By Jon Hyman
’Tis the season for workplace holiday parties. It a time to reflect on the past year and celebrate all your organization has accomplished....
“Who needs the NLRB?”
By Jon Hyman
Bloomberg BNA reporters Chris Opfer and Ben Penn asked this question in their weekly column of workplace musings : “Who needs the NLRB?”...
A $15 minimum wage is not without consequences #fightfor15
By Jon Hyman
Donald Trump’s presidency sparks an interesting dichotomy—a Republican that rode into office on a wave of populism, including fiscal popu...
WIRTW #440 (the “muzak” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week I had a conference call with a client, an event which I repeat dozens of times per week. This particular client uses UberC...
Will the 7th Circuit ban LGBT employment discrimination?
By Jon Hyman
Those of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time should know that I strongly believe that it is a national embarrassm...
Federal court denies injunction against new OSHA retaliation rules
By Jon Hyman
Stan Musial, Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Honus Wagner, Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio. Six of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball. And a...
“Perceived” national origin discrimination may not be illegal, but…
By Jon Hyman
Lost in the maelstrom of the last week’s FLSA overtime rule injunction was the news that the EEOC issued updated enforcement guidance on ...
As sure as today is Cyber Monday, your employees are shopping from work
By Jon Hyman
Today is Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the holiday season. In fact, it is estimated that today will be the biggest onli...
With the new overtime rules DOA, what now for employers?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday I promised myself a blogging vacation until after the Thanksgiving holiday. And then Judge Amos L. Mazzant III dropped the bigge...
BREAKING: Federal judge grants nationwide preliminary injunction against FLSA overtime rule
By Jon Hyman
Consider this the judicial equivalent of a Hail Mary, or full-court buzzer beater, or a bottom-of-the-9th, 2-out grand slam. Judge Amos L...
Dropping some wage and hour wisdom on turkey giveaways
By Jon Hyman
One law firm for which I used to work provided each staff member an annual Thanksgiving turkey as a holiday thank you to its employees. Wi...
Some workplace haiku to start your week #haikuatwork
By Jon Hyman
Lately, the news has been so grim, with elections , and overtime rules , and data breaches , and federal agencies that over-step and over...
WIRTW #439 (the “Texas teardrops” edition)
By Jon Hyman
It’s been a bad week for the Department of Labor in Texas, and it could get a whole lot worse before the month is over. On Wednesday, U.S....
Federal judge takes NLRB to task for rules that protect racist and sexist workplace misconduct
By Jon Hyman
Of all of the decisions the NLRB has handed down in the past eight years, those that let striking employees lob racists and sexist bombs a...
The newest threat to your cybersecurity? Your lunchroom appliances
By Jon Hyman
Dinner is always a bit of cluster in my house. We are a home of two working parents, and, with music lessons and band rehearsals three nig...
What happens to the new FLSA salary test under President Trump?
By Jon Hyman
The one employment-law question I’ve been asked most since waking up last Wednesday to the reality that The Donald will be The President (...
Employee’s misuse of medical leave grounds FMLA claim
By Jon Hyman
Employers often tread too cautiously when handling employees on FMLA leave. Despite this caution, courts will to side with an employer tha...
WIRTW #438 (the “White House” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I heard that there was this huge meeting at the White House yesterday. A photo posted by Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) on Nov 10, 2...
How do we heal at work after this election season? [Updated]
By Jon Hyman
As someone who’s been blogging as long as I have, nearly all of my life experiences run through my blogging filter. “How can translate this...
Federal court recognizes LGBT employment discrimination as illegal under Title VII
By Jon Hyman
It’s been more than a year since the EEOC first announced that it would accept LGBT-discrimination charges as sex-discrimination charges ...
EEOC on Wellness Programs and EEO-1s
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC has posted webinar recordings of two significant new rules: Wellness and EEO-1 requirements.
We measure salaries for FLSA exemptions weekly, not annually
By Jon Hyman
An article entitled, “ Obama overtime-pay rule prompts changes, requires loans, as Ohio universities adapt ,” which ran last week on Cleve...
WIRTW #437 (the “Elevate HR” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Elevate HR is the largest virtual HR conference in the world. And, for the second straight year, I am thrilled to be one of the more than 50...
Employers, do not ignore obvious disability accommodations
By Jon Hyman
All the way back in 2014, I wrote the following : An employee must ask for ADA accommodation to receive it. That is, an employee must ...
Time off from work to vote
By Jon Hyman
Tuesday is Election Day (oh, thank God). As long as Election Day remains a working day, employees will show up to work late, leave work...
Don’t forget the fluctuating workweek for your salaried nonexempt employees
By Jon Hyman
Are you still struggling with how to handle your currently exempt employees who, one month from today , will earn less than $913 per week...
Feds publish a Halloween trick for employers
By Jon Hyman
Have you seen Worker.gov ? It is a how-to manual for employees to file charges with the full gauntlet of federal labor-and-employment agenci...
WIRTW #436 (the "Purdy good music" edition)
By Jon Hyman
Norah and Rhett Joe Purdy has been around for awhile. That I’d never heard of him before I bought my ticket to see him play with Rhett ...
The White House challenges states to reform non-compete agreements
By Jon Hyman
This week, the White House announced a call to action to reform non-compete agreements [pdf] . Instead of proposing sweeping federal legis...
OSHA doubles down against retaliation
By Jon Hyman
OSHA has had a busy October. First, it announced that it has delayed enforcement , until December 1, of the anti-retaliation provisions ...
Just because it might be legal doesn’t make it right
By Jon Hyman
The plaintiff in Tennial v. UPS [pdf] , a former UPS manager, claimed that his manager placed him on a performance improvement plan, and...
Lessons from a job interview
By Jon Hyman
Last week, Steven Colbert conducted a mock job interview for President Obama . During the course of the interview, he asked the President qu...
WIRTW #435 (the "spare time" edition)
By Jon Hyman
How do you spend your down time? What do you do when you’re not working? Me? I blog, and I play roadie for Norah and Donovan. If you happen ...
Is social recruiting discriminatory?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I noted that the EEOC is examining the impact of “big data” on how employers reach employment decisions. Looking at an issue...
EEOC reiterates its enforcement priorities for the next four years
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week, the EEOC announced its updated Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2017 – 2021 . So, what issues must employers have on thei...