How many n-bombs does it take to create a hostile work environment?
Smelter v. Southern Home Care Services (11th Cir. 9/24/18) answers the question, "How many n-bombs does it take to create an unlawfu...
Why the federal government's culture war against LGBTQ rights might not matter
By Jon Hyman
You would do well to remember just how fluid is gender "Second Wave Goodbye," War on Women According to the New York Times...
What you need to know about your office lottery pool
By Jon Hyman
Late Friday afternoon (when the Mega Millions was only a mere billion dollars), I received a phone call from Brian Duffy , a reporter fro...
WIRTW #528 (the “paranoid” edition)
By Jon Hyman
It's been a few months, but Fake ID was finally back on stage last weekend. There's not much in life that makes me happier tha...
Essential functions are judged by operational realities, not job descriptions
By Jon Hyman
Tony Gunter worked as a press operator for Bemis, Inc., printing graphics for the outside of Huggies diapers. In January 2013, he injured hi...
Timing of retaliation is key factor in reinstatement of employee's lawsuit
By Jon Hyman
"See something, say something" is one of the most important elements of any workplace intent on stopping harassment. Employers are...
OSHA softens its hard line against workplace safety incentive programs and post-incident drug testing
By Jon Hyman
It's been two years since OSHA announced its hard-line interpretation of its then newly announced anti-retaliation rules—that using i...
The 17th nominee for the “worst employer of 2018” is … the hedonistic harasser
By Jon Hyman
Some call it horseplay. I call it sexual assault. And the 17th nominee for the Worst Employer of 2018. Robert Smith worked behind the me...
WIRTW #527 (the “Yeezy” edition)
By Jon Hyman
There's a lot to say about Kanye's bizarre Oval Office meeting with President Trump. But the most shocking? His iPhone password i...
Make your business cyber-aware for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
By Jon Hyman
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month . Let's see how good your cyber-awareness is. Do you know the top method of cyber-...
#HimToo is a BAD bandwagon on which to jump in your workplace
By Jon Hyman
since she deleted it here’s a screenshot. one of the greatest posts of all time pic.twitter.com/Z6TUKOjH9T — KT NELSON (@KrangTNelson) Oc...
How does one measure the impact of #MeToo at its first anniversary?
By Jon Hyman
It's been one year since the the New York Times reported allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein that started the...
Court reminds that economic realities, not corporate formalities, govern independent contractor status
By Jon Hyman
The distinction between independent contractors and employees continues to confound employers. At issue in Acosta v. Jani-King of Oklahoma...
WIRTW #526 (the “pumpkin” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin spice. Pumpkin carving. Pumpkin festivals. Fall is officially the season of the pumpkin. What are you doing Sunday, O...
Are you planning to take advantage of the IRS's employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave?
By Jon Hyman
When Congress reformed the tax law earlier this year, one key change that might have flown under your radar is an employer tax credit for pa...
EEOC sues Walmart for not hiring a congential amputee
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC has sued Walmart on behalf of a woman who claims the retailer failed to hire her for a stocker job after it learned that she born w...
"I'm going to need every Saturday off; is that gonna be a problem?"
By Jon Hyman
Darrell Patterson had worked in Walgreens' 24/7 call center for six years without incident. He claims Walgreens fired him for skipping a...
5 steps to take when an employee sues your company
By Jon Hyman
I've written a lot over the years about best practices to prevent lawsuits by employees. The fact remains, though, that no matter how ...
WIRTW #525 (the “pogo” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I have no idea if he managed to hit the right keys, but he's sure mastered the entertainment part of this rock 'n' roll thing. ...
Don't Lindsey Graham your company's harassment investigations
By Jon Hyman
What am I supposed to do, go ahead and ruin this guy's life based on an accusation? I'm just being honest. Unless there's somet...
Cuyahoga County bans LGBTQ discrimination
By Jon Hyman
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, my home county, has lately been on the receiving end of some bad press. Season 3 of Serial just landed on your podca...
Don't ignore state law when considering wage-and-hour issues
By Jon Hyman
In Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk , the U.S. Supreme Court held the employees of an Amazon fulfillment center were not entitled to be ...
The 16th nominee for the “worst employer of 2018” is … the sexist, racist, xenophobic, oh my!
By Jon Hyman
"Jon, your first 15 nominees this year were so awful. How are we supposed to decide which is the worst , and please stop adding nomin...
WIRTW #524 (the “total disaster” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Any week Rhett Miller releases new music into the world is a week worth celebrating. Earlier this week Rhett released "Total Disaster,...
What employment sins are you atoning for this year?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday was Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. For the uninitiated, it is the day on which we make peace with God for all of the s...
There's a new sheriff in town at the NLRB
By Jon Hyman
Last week was a big one at the National Labor Relations Board. First, the Board announced its intent to modify its joint employer standard...
Sexual harassment allegations unjustifiably ruin people's lives only if they are false
By Jon Hyman
Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. The...
WIRTW #523 (the “radio radio” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week, I guested on AirTalk® , 89.3 KPCC in Los Angeles. I discussed the rights of employers to access information on employees...
Do you have employee-theft insurance?
By Jon Hyman
The Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion , a science museum showcasing one of the largest living arthropod collections in the Un...
The 15th nominee for the “worst employer of 2018” is … the tasering torturer
By Jon Hyman
Was this a car dealership or the set of Hostel 4 ? Jason Cox worked as a car salesperson for Marietta Motors. According to Cox's lawsu...
Everything you want to know about employee polygraph tests
By Jon Hyman
Lie detector tests, have been all over the news lately. Reports suggest that Donald Trump wants to administer these examinations to the ent...
Do you really want to be the employer that bans your employees from wearing Nike products?
By Jon Hyman
Last week, Nike launched its new ad campaign featuring (former) NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He's most famous for being the first N...
WIRTW #522 (the “back to school” edition)
By Jon Hyman
If your kids go back to school and you don't post photographic evidence , does it count? View this post on Instagr...
Compliance-by-carrot trumps compliance-by-stick
By Jon Hyman
Democratic administrations are about enforcement. Republican administrations are about education. The endgame is still enforcement, but e...
The FLSA's exemptions are becoming more "fair" for employers
By Jon Hyman
In Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro , the Supreme Court ruled that overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act "are to be gi...
Training won't fix stupid
By Jon Hyman
A fast-food restaurant fired a recently hired employee after its manager learned she was pregnant. How do we know this was the manager...
WIRTW #521 (the “master of my domain” edition)
By Jon Hyman
What's the top employee issue that makes HR folks queasy? Drugs? Sex? Pornography? According to Robin Schooling , the worst conversati...
Does the FMLA protect organ-donation surgery as a "serious health condition?"
By Jon Hyman
Organ donors are living saints. If you are in need of an organ to save your life, and someone is willing to sacrifice a kidney, or a liver s...
I ❤️ my wife, and I ❤️ attendance policies
By Jon Hyman
On August 29, 2003, I married my wife. The ceremony was to start at 11 am, and by 10:55 I was nervous. Not your normal, "I'm abou...
Temporary employees have permanent legal rights
By Jon Hyman
Temporary employees do not leave their legal rights at your door. In fact, they enjoy the same rights as your permanent employees. Conside...
7 tips on how to handle cyber-sabotage and other insider cyber threats
By Jon Hyman
Your employees are your company's weakest link , and therefore, your greatest threat to suffering a cyber-attack and resulting data br...
WIRTW #520 (the “cucaracha” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Welcome to fun-fact Friday. The Mexican folk song La Cucaracha has a long and fascinating history . It was popularized during the Mexican...
Dirty Harry, the worst recruiter ever
By Jon Hyman
After yesterday's detective novel of a post, I thought I'd go with something light and airy today (if you consider watching Dirty Ha...
A cautionary tale about an attempted fraud (updated, 11:25 am)
By Jon Hyman
I was recently the target of a highly sophisticated legal-services fraud. Thankfully, this scam set off my Spidey sense from the beginning, ...
An expensive lesson on disability harassment
By Jon Hyman
With of all of the attention the #MeToo Movement has provided sexual harassment, employers must not forget that all forms of unlawful wo...
EEOC sues on behalf of harassed Catholic employee
By Jon Hyman
Religion a funny thing. Throughout the history of mankind it's fueled so much hate, war, and death. And yet, it brings so much peace, co...
WIRTW #519 (the “R-I-P-R-E-S-P-E-C-T” edition)
By Jon Hyman
While I've always loved Aretha's music, and her voice, and her soul, I never appreciated until watching yesterday's tribut...
Can you lawfully fire an employee who writes "whore board" to protest a new overtime rule?
By Jon Hyman
In Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC , the NLRB held that an employer unlawfully fired an employee who wrote "whore board...
Are "digital addiction" claims about to invade your workplace?
By Jon Hyman
There is no doubt that addiction is a protected disability under the ADA (and Ohio's parallel law ). Typically, we think of addiction...
Ohio's new cybersecurity safe harbor for businesses means the time for cybersecurity compliance is NOW
By Jon Hyman
Do you know that the average total cost of a data breach to a business is $3.86 million? This is a 6.4% increase over the past year. For...
Protecting your business from an "Omarosa": workplace recordings and the law
By Jon Hyman
Omarosa Manigault-Newman, formerly a contestant on Donald Trump's The Apprentice and also formerly an employee in President Trump's...
WIRTW #518 (the “no-stress zone” edition)
By Jon Hyman
What de-stresses you? Where do you go, or what do you do, that makes all the stress in your life melt away? My wife and I recently spen...
No one should be told to "suck it up" after requesting FMLA leave
By Jon Hyman
If this was August 201 7 , I would be touting today's post as a strong contender for the "Worst Employer of the Year." It says...
Juicing the reasonable accommodation low-hanging fruit
By Jon Hyman
Would you rather spend seven figures to lose a lawsuit, or $1.69 to allow a diabetic employee to drink a bottle of orange juice? The answ...
Despite what one court held, workplace discrimination laws DO protect employees from non-employees
By Jon Hyman
Pop quiz: Can an employer ignore harassment or other discriminatory behavior directed at employees by non-employees? If your answer is ...
On religious liberty vs. workplace discrimination laws
By Jon Hyman
Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of a "Religious Liberty Task Force" It will enforce a 2017 DOJ m...
WIRTW #517 (the “interrupter” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Every now and again I like to bring y'all some new music to discover for your Friday. It might not be new, and it might not be new to me...
The 14th nominee for the “worst employer of 2018” is … the HR pimp
By Jon Hyman
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — the federal agency charged with responding to natural disasters — appears to have a disas...