WIRTW #565 (the “back to school” edition)
My kids went back to school this week. 5th grade for Donovan and 8th grade for Norah. I sent them off with this advice. Try your hardest...
The EEOC asks the Supreme Court to legalize sex discrimination
By Jon Hyman
This fall, the Supreme Court will hear argument in three cases to decide whether Title VII’s coverage of sex discrimination also implicit...
Does the ADA cover morbid obesity? Federal appellate court says maybe 🤷♂️
By Jon Hyman
Jose Valtierra weighed 370 pounds at the time Medtronic terminated his employment in 2014 for falsifying job reports. Valtierra claimed th...
New study reveals that age discrimination remains a worsening problem for employers
By Jon Hyman
Insurance company Hiscox just released its 2019 Ageism in the Workplace Study [pdf] , which revealed some sobering statistics about the gr...
Is it legal to dock the pay of employees who skip a political rally being held in the workplace?
By Jon Hyman
Has an employer violated the law if it docks the pay of an employee who skips a speech being given by Donald Trump in their place of emplo...
WIRTW #564 (the “Woodstock” edition)
By Jon Hyman
At this moment very moment, 50 years ago, an estimated 400,000 people were gathered on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York, celebr...
Government sanctioned discrimination is abhorrent and we, as a nation, should be ashamed
By Jon Hyman
Trigger warning: today’s post is not for everyone. If, however, you are offended by what I am about to say, then today’s post is specifica...
You are DUMB if you threaten to fire employees who support labor unions, and even DUMBER if you tweet about it #barstool
By Jon Hyman
Meet Dave Portnoy . He’s the editor of Barstool Sports , a website that I can only describe as having missed the memo entirely on #MeToo. Mr...
The law is a floor, not a ceiling: FMLA and IEP meetings
By Jon Hyman
Last week, the Department of Labor issued an opinion letter [pdf] making clear that covered employers must provide intermittent FMLA le...
Do you know what to do if ICE shows up at your business?
By Jon Hyman
Last week, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested nearly 700 immigrants as part of a series of raids at work-sites through...
WIRTW #563 (the “work in progress” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Work in Progress is band fronted by Gaten Matarazzo, who is better known for his role as Dustin on Stranger Things . Next week, his band is...
Who owns intellectual property created for a company?
By Jon Hyman
Growing up in Philadelphia, there are few things more beloved than the Phillie Phanatic. Which is why I’m so intrigued by the lawsuit th...
EEOC settlement teaches lesson on extended leaves of absence as ADA accommodation
By Jon Hyman
An employee tells you that he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and needs a few weeks off for treatment, surgery, and recovery. ...
It is an inexcusable sin for an employer NOT to have an anti-discrimination policy
By Jon Hyman
There are some employment policies that you can get away with not having. An anti-discrimination policy is not one of them. In Hubbell v...
Help me understand guns
By Jon Hyman
This weekend was one of the deadliest on record ever for gun violence. Dozens were killed and more injured in separate shootings in El Pas...
WIRTW #562 (the “someday we’ll find it” edition)
By Jon Hyman
When the whole world seems like it’s going to 💩 , sometimes all you need to brighten your spirits is a video of 🐸 singing about a 🌈. So...
When an employee’s religion clashes with an employer’s dress code
By Jon Hyman
A Muslim woman is suing the hospital at which she works as medical assistant, claiming she was told she needed a “note from the Quran” wh...
Do workplace bullies violate OSHA?
By Jon Hyman
According to a study recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology , bullying bosses make workplaces less safe. Poor treatmen...
Labor and employment lessons from the world’s most combative stripper
By Jon Hyman
Different type of stripper Meet Brandi Campbell, a stripper and self-proclaimed labor activist for other strippers nationwide. She main...
#MeToo hasn’t killed the office romance, just the inappropriate ones
By Jon Hyman
According to the National Review, #MeToo killed the office romance . It must be a brave soul who dares to strike up a flirtatious conve...
WIRTW #561 (the “don’t call me flaky” edition)
By Jon Hyman
According to The Economist , dads face greater workplace penalties for taking parental leaves than do moms. Americans see taking a break t...
Which mental health service does the FMLA not cover?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I discussed our national mental health crisis , and the important role employers play in removing barriers to employees receivi...
Employee suicide is the next big workplace safety crisis
By Jon Hyman
A recent headline at businessinsurance.com caught my eye: Suicide seen as “next frontier” in workplace safety risks It’s a pretty d...
The 14th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the horrible harasser
By Jon Hyman
In its press release announcing a recently filed sexual harassment lawsuit, the EEOC says that a N.Y.-based housing development and prop...
Parental discrimination claims pose big risks for employers
By Jon Hyman
According to workingmother.com, More Parents Than Ever Are Suing Their Employers for Discrimination—and Winning . The article is right — ...
WIRTW #560 (the “more kindness” edition) #IChooseKindness
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday , I asked you all to join me in choosing kindness, and talked about Richard Cook ’s Don’t Hurt Anyone Project . Over on LinkedIn ,...
I choose kindness
By Jon Hyman
In a world that has decided That it’s going to lose its mind Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind ...
There isn’t a “magic number” of racial or ethnic insults an employee must prove to establish a hostile work environment
By Jon Hyman
Jamie Ortiz (of Puerto Rican descent) worked for the Broward County, Florida, School Board in various capacities for nearly 20 years, incl...
A handy FAQ for service animals in the workplace
By Jon Hyman
A local Subway recently earned itself some bad publicity when an employee denied access to a customer with a service dog. While this ...
The 13th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the excoriating executives
By Jon Hyman
It’s been nearly a month since I posted the last nominee for 2019’s Worst Employer. It’s not for lack of ideas; it’s just that the prior n...
WIRTW #559 (the “Happy Birthday D-Man” edition)
By Jon Hyman
This guy turns 11 on Sunday. Happy birthday Donovan! Please keep making us smile. Here’s what I read the past two weeks. Disc...
Rob Mendez won the Jimmy V Award at last night’s ESPYS, and it might be the most inspiring thing you’ve ever seen
By Jon Hyman
Rob Mendez coaches the JV football team at Prospect High School in Saratoga, California. He’s also lived his entire life with no arms and no...
Why are employers testing job applicants for prescription medications?
By Jon Hyman
During a pre-employment medical examination and drug screen, an applicant tests positive for Alprazolam, the generic form of Xanax (a medic...
NLRB offers significant and important guidance on its new(ish) employee handbook rules
By Jon Hyman
It’s been just over 18 months since the NLRB decided Boeing Co. , perhaps its most significant decision in decades. It rewrote more than a...
Why, yesterday, in France was a stadium full of people chanting “EQUAL PAY?”
By Jon Hyman
Indisputable fact no. 1: Women and men should earn the same pay for the same work. Indisputable fact no. 2: The players on the United St...
4 ways your employees are like a new puppy
By Jon Hyman
We are on day 5 of new puppy in the Hyman household. Dante is adjusting well, as are we (including big sister Loula … more or less). It’s be...
There’s no such thing as “reverse” discrimination—it’s all just discrimination
By Jon Hyman
According to the New York Post , a Caucasian 20-year veteran attorney for the Legal Aid Society is suing her former employer for race dis...
Don’t forget about overtime pay when providing bonuses to non-exempt employees
By Jon Hyman
Last week Chipotle announced a new bonus plan that could earn its employees up to an extra month of pay each year. Per the chain’s press r...
Does an employer have a duty to protect the personal information of its employees? (Part 3)
By Jon Hyman
Employees trust their employers with a whole bunch of personal information. Social security numbers, medical documents, insurance records,...
Facebook video sinks employee’s FMLA claim
By Jon Hyman
Everything was going swimmingly for Thomas Dunger during his approved FMLA leave from his job as a mechanic for Union Pacific Railroad … ...
Employers are making new dog ownership a little less ruff by offering “pawternity” leave
By Jon Hyman
In three days, my family grows by one. We’re adding a puppy. My wife and kids have been clamoring for a new dog for a year. Loula (our ...
The Customer isn’t always right: The Museum of Sex(ual harassment)
By Jon Hyman
Just because an employee works at The Museum of Sex does not mean that she wants be sexually harassed. Or least that’s what Katherine McMa...
WIRTW #557 (the “infinity and beyond” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Toy Story has played a huge party in my life. Donovan is a Toy Story fanatic. He’s seen every movie hundreds of times. He has what seems li...
Is blockchain technology the next frontier in combating sexual harassment?
By Jon Hyman
According to Employee Benefit News , Vault Platform has developed an app that uses blockchain technology to allow employees to document a...
The 12th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the disguised doctor
By Jon Hyman
Norma Melgoza, a long-time employee of Rush University Medical Center, is suing her employer for sex discrimination and equal-pay violatio...
What’s a hostile work environment? You’ll know it when you see it.
By Jon Hyman
“I know it when I see it.” These are the famous words of Justice Potter Stewart defining legal obscenity in his concurring opinion in Jaco...
How long of a leash must you give an employee before firing?
By Jon Hyman
When a client calls me to ask for advice about firing an employee, the first question I always ask is, “What does the employee’s file look...
Do your employees understand that social media is a very public conversation?
By Jon Hyman
“It’s 2019. All of our employees have been on Facebook for years. Many are also on Twitter, and Instagram, and … We don’t need to do any soc...
WIRTW #556 (the “comfort zone” edition)
By Jon Hyman
My comfort zone is most definitely not at a biker rally. Yet, that's where I found myself last Saturday afternoon. The things we do for...
An obituary for employment at-will
By Jon Hyman
Over at her employee-rights blog, Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home , attorney Donna Ballman asks, “ Is is time to terminate at-will emplo...
SCOTUS decides whether Title VII’s charge-filing precondition to suit is jurisdictional or non-jurisdictional
By Jon Hyman
If the U.S. Supreme Court decided an employment case, I’m contractually obligated to blog about it. Yet, Ford Bend County, Texas v. Davi...
Proposed law wants to convert “anti-vaxxer” into a protected class
By Jon Hyman
With a couple of important exceptions, an employer can require that employees be up to date on their vaccinations. The exceptions? ...
Thorough internal investigation saves employer from discrimination claim
By Jon Hyman
A bank fires two female employees for violating its vault-access policy. They claim sex discrimination, pointing their fingers squarely a...
WIRTW #555 (the “you get a shirt, and you get a shirt…” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I ❤️ that my daughter’s band is now selling its own merch. Here’s what I read this week.