Celebrating “World Kindness Day” at work #WorldKindnessDay #ChooseKindness
Today is World Kindness Day . Introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, it highlights good deeds in the community by focusing on ...
#MeToo does not always equal #FireHim
By Jon Hyman
Just because an employee complains about harassment does not mean that if the allegations are founded the employer must fire the harasser....
The 19th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the barbaric boss
By Jon Hyman
The headline is scary enough. South Carolina Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Forcing Man with Intellectual Disability to Wor...
WIRTW #576 (the “Dolly” edition)
By Jon Hyman
A couple of months ago, in the 568th version of “What I Read This Week,” I posted 5 of the best songs about work. I had no idea when I l...
“Smoking gun” email revives employee’s disability discrimination lawsuit
By Jon Hyman
Maryville Anesthesiologists fired Paula Babb, an experienced Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, because it thought she suffered from ...
Recent decision about a positive drug test has a lot to say about the future of medical marijuana and employer drug testing
By Jon Hyman
Richard Turner worked as a crane operator for Phillips 66. The company’s substance abuse policy allowed for random and post-accident drug ...
When it comes to racial preference, the customer is never right
By Jon Hyman
An Illinois Buffalo Wild Wings has fired all employees involved in an incident in which staff acceded to the request of a Caucasian “regu...
An employee’s disability is not a “get out of jail free” card for workplace misconduct
By Jon Hyman
Does a medical leave of absence grant an employee a free pass for pre-leave misconduct discovered during the LOA? This question is squarel...
WIRTW #575 (the “3.5” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Being a parent is the world’s hardest job. But it’s also the most world’s most rewarding one. Which is why we keep doing it. The rewards are...
Must you tell employees when you are surveilling their devices?
By Jon Hyman
It’s unusual these days for an employee not to have a device issued by their employer, or on which they can access their employer’s infor...
“Tone down your gayness” = $20 million
By Jon Hyman
A jury has awarded a St. Louis County police officer nearly $20 million over allegations that his superiors repeatedly denied him a promot...
6 tips to avoid turning your costume party into an HR nightmare
By Jon Hyman
Even this Halloween Scrooge can get into the spirit Halloween is this week. Truth be told, Halloween is one of my least favorite hol...
The 18th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the fecal loving fast-food manager
By Jon Hyman
Kari Phillips did not feel well when she awoke prior to her shift at an Oregon City, Oregon, McDonald’s. She called the restaurant to requ...
WIRTW #574 (the “hero” edition)
By Jon Hyman
What's a hero? I'm not sure how to define one, but I certainly know one when I see one. And earlier this week, I got to see one. ...
OSHA publishes new guidance on distracted driving
By Jon Hyman
The reaction time of someone texting while driving is 35 percent worse than someone driving without any distractions. Compare that figure ...
Is this the worst defense ever to a discrimination claim?
By Jon Hyman
Litigation is painful. It takes a lot of time, costs a lot of money, and has lots of variables that you just can’t control. Especially whe...
What’s really at stake when the Supreme Court decides LGBTQ rights under Title VII
By Jon Hyman
Sometime next Spring the Supreme Court will announce its decision on whether Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination implicitly...
My dog was victim-blamed … and I don’t like it
By Jon Hyman
On Friday, Dante, our five-month-old puppy, was attacked while in the (what we thought was the) safety our our fenced-in yard. New neighbo...
WIRTW #573 (the “last laugh” edition)
By Jon Hyman
When I go, I hope I have enough forethought to go out like this. A dead man pranked his family at his own funeral by using a recording ...
New EEOC case is a not-so-subtle reminder that we still have a lot of work to do to improve race relations
By Jon Hyman
The allegations in this case —which the EEOC just filed against a Louisiana river transporter—remind us that while race relations have imp...
A dramatic retelling of the 17th nominee for the worst employer of 2019
By Jon Hyman
Click here for the full story .
The 17th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the mauling manager
By Jon Hyman
I don’t even know what to say about today’s nominee for 2019’s worst employer, so I’ll just let Newsweek do the heavy lifting . A Pakista...
Poor taste does not amount to prohibited sexual harassment.
By Jon Hyman
I once made the mistake of watching an episode of Orange is the New Black on an airplane. The guy sitting behind was very uncomfortably ...
The 16th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the shameful wall builder
By Jon Hyman
If you’re a health care facility whose employees erect a “wall of shame” of disabled patients, and then you drag your feet when an employ...
WIRTW #572 (the “what did I miss” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Did I miss anything big while I was away earlier this week? Argument analysis: Justices divided on federal protections for LGBT employe...
A little kindness goes a LONG way
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week I was in Philadelphia with my family for my son’s cardiac procedure. During our visit, we stayed at the Sonesta Philadelph...
WIRTW #571 (the “thoughts and prayers” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I’ll be offline next week, as my family will be in Philadelphia for my son’s heart procedure. Donovan was born with pulmonary valve stenos...
If at first you don’t succeed … Ohio will again try to fix its broken employment discrimination law
By Jon Hyman
For lack of more artful description, Ohio’s employment discrimination law is an awful mess. Among other problems, it exposes employers t...
The 15th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the disability demoter
By Jon Hyman
An employee tells you he might need to leave work on a moment’s notice to rush home to care for his disabled daughter (born with a severe ...
Why are so many employers discriminating against lactating moms?
By Jon Hyman
Women were told to pump in their manager’s office or a meeting room without locks, where they were walked in on repeatedly. Many had to p...
Are hangovers the next frontier of your FMLA headaches?
By Jon Hyman
A German court recently ruled that a hangover qualifies as an “illness.” Which got me thinking … are hangovers the next frontier of your...
WIRTW #570 (the “unexpected” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I always assumed my kids would out-achieve me. I just never imagined it would happen by the 8th grade. Cleveland Magazine just named ...
6th Circuit holds that an employee cannot contractually shorten Title VII’s statute of limitations
By Jon Hyman
In Thurman v. Daimler Chrysler , the 6th Circuit agreed that the following agreement between an employer and an employee shortening the ti...
DOL announces new salary threshold for white collar exemptions
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the Department of Labor announced that effective January 1, 2020, the salary threshold for an employee to be exempt from overti...
Girl Scouts good / union organizers bad
By Jon Hyman
What rights do you have to ban union organizers from your property? A lot. Your property is your property. What if, however, you allow ...
No-fault attendance policies offer no cover when the ADA or FMLA are involved
By Jon Hyman
An employee suffering from epilepsy, migraines, and heart condition asks (with a medical note) for two unpaid days off from work unpaid to t...
WIRTW #569 (the “get by with a little help” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I bet you can’t find someone having a better time than this guy. I hope you have something in your life that brings you this much joy. ...
Accommodating pregnant employees is a legal floor, not a ceiling
By Jon Hyman
UPS has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle a pregnancy discrimination charge investigated by the EEOC. The agency was to consider whet...
When investigating misconduct, you don’t have to overturn every stone, but you also can’t ignore the obvious ones
By Jon Hyman
Unless you're a wine nerd, you likely haven't heard about the cheating scandal that has rocked the Court of Master Sommeliers, th...
It’s illegal to refuse to hire men, even if you’re a sex store
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC has sued Sactacular Holdings, LLC d/b/a Adam & Eve for sex discrimination for refusing to hire male applicants. What is Adam ...
Employee fired for stacking his intermittent FMLA leave with vacation days loses retaliation claim
By Jon Hyman
Kevin LaBelle, a lab technician for Cleveland Cliffs, took occasional days off from work for approved intermittent FMLA leave for flare-up...
WIRTW #568 (the “work songs, vol. 1” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Today, I thought I’d take a look at some of the best songs ever written about working. Here are my first five. (These are not necessarily ...
It’s hard to win a lawsuit when you admit you don’t have a case
By Jon Hyman
James Scott’s employer fired him for accumulating 10 points under its no-fault attendance policy. He claimed FMLA retaliation, alleging th...
When alcohol is involved, the ADA distinguishes between “having a disability” and “disability-related misconduct”
By Jon Hyman
Alcoholism is an ADA-protected disability. Yet, the ADA does not require that employers accommodate alcoholics by permitting them to drink...
The supposed #MeToo backlash is just discrimination by another name
By Jon Hyman
A recent study suggests that there has been a backlash against the #MeToo movement. According to the Harvard Business Review , men have...
NLRB asks for help to overturn some really $%#^ bad decisions
By Jon Hyman
“Bob is such a NASTY MOTHER FUCKER don’t know how to talk to people!!!!!! Fuck his mother and his entire fucking family!!!! What a LOSER!!...
WIRTW #567 (the “passion” edition)
By Jon Hyman
With a 13 year old with one foot dangling in the music business, I do a lot of reading about the music business, and what it means to liv...
When common sense carries the day
By Jon Hyman
Jordan does not explain how being disciplined for her unplanned absences and tardy arrivals created a hostile work environment. Without e...
Social media accounts are not telling you the whole story about your applicants and employees
By Jon Hyman
If you rely on social media to paint for you a full and complete picture about your job applicants and employees, you are going to be very...
Why “ban the box” doesn’t work for employers or employees
By Jon Hyman
Listen this clip from Ear Hustle (a podcast about “the daily realities of life inside prison shared by those living it, and stories from th...
WIRTW #566 (the “sweet sixteen” edition)
By Jon Hyman
We haven’t changed a bit after 16 years of marriage. Happy (yesterday) anniversary to my bestie! Here’s what I read this week.
No, your FMLA does not grant you license to threaten your coworkers
By Jon Hyman
After being harassed by co-workers, Paul Ellis took to Facebook to air his grievances publicly. Among his comments was one that could be p...
This is what sex discrimination will look like if the Department of Justice gets its wish to legalize sex stereotyping
By Jon Hyman
Last week the Department of Justice (on behalf of its client, the EEOC), filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to conclude that “s ex st...
Can an employer ask an employee to stop groaning in pain all the time if she refuses to seek medical treatment?
By Jon Hyman
Last week I received the following email from Alison Green , who writes the entertaining and informative blog, Ask a Manager . Hi Jon, ...
Is a vacation during an FMLA leave inconsistent with an employee’s serious health condition?
By Jon Hyman
A few months ago I wrote about an employee fired for taking a fishing trip while out on an FMLA leave. In that case, the court upheld the ...