Coronavirus Update 10-21-2021: Nick Rolovich v. Pope Francis
Compare the following two statements, and then let's talk. 1. "It is a tragic and damning commentary on our culture … that Coach Ro...
Coronavirus Update 10-20-2021: How to spot a fake vaccine card
By Jon Hyman
The NHL has suspended San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane 21 games for violating the League's Covid-19 protocol. His offense: supplyin...
“Striketober” highlights union organizing concerns for Ohio craft breweries
By Jon Hyman
One of the unexpected byproducts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is a corresponding rise in union organizing and other union-related activi...
Netflix’s termination of the organizer of a trans employee walkout very well might be legal
By Jon Hyman
Late Friday, The Verge reported that Netflix fired one of the leaders of an internal trans employee resource group who was organizing an em...
UPDATE: HIPAA (mis)information and the Covid vaccine
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week I wrote about a national payroll provider that shared some very incorrect information about an employer’s HIPAA responsib...
WIRTW #600: the “Here, there, and every … where” edition
By Jon Hyman
This week I rejoined my good friends Marc Alifanz and Kate Bischoff on the Hostile Work Environment podcast to discuss the Season 2 finale...
Coronavirus Update 10-14-2021: We still don’t know what OSHA’s vaccine standard says … but we’re getting closer
By Jon Hyman
Late Tuesday, news broke that OSHA had submitted in vaccine mandate Emergency Temporary Standard to the White House’s Office of Informatio...
Coronavirus Update 10-13-2021: Unfortunately I need to keep clarifying misconceptions about HIPAA
By Jon Hyman
I came across the following information on the website of a prominent national payroll provider: Q: In what ways can/should HR departments ...
Coronavirus Update 10-12-21: A prior Covid infection is not a defense to an employer’s vaccine mandate
By Jon Hyman
"I don't need the vaccine; I've already had Covid and have superior natural immunity " is a popular refrain from some peop...
Coronavirus Update 10-11-21: World Mental Health Day
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday was World Mental Health Day. It was also day 579 of the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has altered all of our lives; all employees a...
WIRTW #599: the “34” edition
By Jon Hyman
Ask any litigant who has had the (dis)pleasure of being a party to civil litigation in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for their o...
Coronavirus Update 10-7-21: EEOC brings its first pandemic-related lawsuit over a denied WFH accommodation
By Jon Hyman
The fact that an employer temporarily excused performance of one or more essential functions when it closed the workplace and enabled employ...
Employment law lessons from “Ted Lasso” — Let’s talk about medical confidentiality
By Jon Hyman
The penultimate episode of Season 2 of Ted Lasso ended with an absolute gut-punch of a cliffhanger. ( Spoiler Alert — Turn Back Now If You...
Coronavirus Update 10-5-21: Would you rather? Get fired? Or get the Covid-19 vaccine?
By Jon Hyman
Last week I asked a simple question on LinkedIn : If your employer is mandating the Covid vaccine, would you rather get fired or get the sh...
Whistleblowing and self-help discovery: lessons from Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower
By Jon Hyman
"Can she do that?" That was the question my wife asked me as we watched last night's interview of Frances Haugen, the Facebook...
WIRTW #598: the “Would you rather?” edition
By Jon Hyman
As workplace vaccine mandates continue to dominate the headlines, employees continue to threaten to quit their jobs if forced to get jabbed ...
Coronavirus Update 9-29-21: We need to talk about the rise in anti-Semitism and Nazi symbolism
By Jon Hyman
"You're being a Nazi by mandating masks and vaccines." "'Papers, please.' I refuse as a condition of entering a s...
Coronavirus Update 9-28-21: White House issues Covid vaccine mandate guidance for federal contractors and subcontractors
By Jon Hyman
If your business is a federal contractor or subcontractor, you have until December 8 to ensure that your employees are fully vaccinated aga...
Coronavirus Update 9-27-21: Repeat after me. “A vaccine mandate is not coercive.”
By Jon Hyman
Today's post is for anyone who believes that a workplace vaccine mandate is coercive or deprives employees of their free choice not to g...
WIRTW #597: the “Sorry Antivaxxer” edition
By Jon Hyman
If you've visited me on LinkedIn or Twitter (and if we're not connected on both, please fix that immediately), you may have notice...
Coronavirus Update 9-23-21: If you’re tired of reading what I have to say about workplace vaccine mandates, now you can listen to what I have to say
By Jon Hyman
A huge thank you to the producing team at WCPN 's The Sound of Ideas and host Rick Jackson for inviting me on to yesterday's progr...
Coronavirus Update 9-21-21: Covid-19 has now killed as many Americans as the Spanish flu
By Jon Hyman
Covid-19 just passed a grim, sad, and preventable milestone. It has killed as many Americans, 675,000, as the last pandemic we suffered, the...
Coronavirus Update 9-20-21: Fetal stem cells and vaccine-mandate religious exemptions
By Jon Hyman
As the debate over religious exemptions to workplace Covid vaccine mandates, one hospital has taken a unique approach to verify the sincerit...
WIRTW #596: the “Waterloo" edition
By Jon Hyman
It was a busy week in the Hyman house last week, with middle school soccer games and rock 'n' roll gigs all over town for my kids. I...
Coronavirus Update 9-15-21: Do mandatory vaccination policies have an adverse impact on minority employees?
By Jon Hyman
With President Biden's announcement of his plan to vaccinate all employees of employers with 100 or more employees, the nation is keenl...
Employment law lessons from “Ted Lasso” – dating the boss
By Jon Hyman
If you've not yet watched episode 8 (Man City) of the current second season of Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso and you don't want to be s...
Coronavirus Update 9-11-21: Here is why the vaccination ETS that Biden has directed OSHA to issue is likely illegal
By Jon Hyman
President Biden has directed OSHA to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating that all employers with 100 or more employees ma...
WIRTW #595: The “future of paid leave" edition
By Jon Hyman
For all the negative effects that the Covid-19 pandemic has wrought, it has imparted some very positive changes to the American workplace. F...
BREAKING NEWS: Biden to announce vaccine mandate for all employers with 100 or more employees
By Jon Hyman
CNN is reporting that President Biden will announce an executive order directing the Department of Labor to draft an emergency rule requiri...
Coronavirus Update 9-9-21: Don’t forget about overtime laws when paying employees pandemic-related bonuses
By Jon Hyman
If you pass any restaurant these days you'll almost certainly see a sign like this one: "Now hiring: $________ sign-on bonus....
Coronavirus Update 9-8-21: Ohio court reverses itself, orders that hospital does not have to administer ivermectin to its Covid patient
By Jon Hyman
Last week I reported on a trial court case out of Butler County, Ohio, in which a common pleas judge granted the wife of a hospitalized Cov...
“Ted Lasso" and the difference between illegal harassment and legal (but still wrong) bullying
By Jon Hyman
If you're watching Ted Lasso, you're familiar with the story of Nathan Shelley, kit man turned coach turned Wonder Kid. Season 2 tel...
WIRTW #594: the “three fests and a wine bar” edition
By Jon Hyman
If you're in Northeast Ohio, let me suggest four ways for you to spend your time over the next couple of weeks — all involving my daught...
The 12th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2021” is … the Pregnancy Prognosticator
By Jon Hyman
If I know one thing, and only one thing, as a man (okay, two things) it's these: NEVER joke about a woman's weight and never ask a w...
Shredding documents during litigation is a bad, bad idea (a “Worst Employer" nominee update)
By Jon Hyman
Activision Blizzard was my 11th nominee for the Worst Employer of 2021 . Among the alleged sins that earned its nomination — a key software ...
Coronavirus Update 8-31-21: Despite FDA and CDC warnings to the contrary, Ohio court orders hospital to administer Ivermectin to Covid patient
By Jon Hyman
Ivermectin is a high potency medication used to prevent or treat parasites in livestock. It's FDA-approved for limited use in humans, su...
Coronavirus Update 8-30-21: Vaccine mandates and unemployment compensation
By Jon Hyman
DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB As the mandates are increasing and the “deadlines” fast approach, YOU SHOULD NOT QUIT YOUR JOB. Do not be fooled if you...
WIRTW #593 (the “18 and life” edition)
By Jon Hyman
17 years and 363 days ago, I married the love of my life. In two days, we'll celebrate our 18th anniversary. The number 18 is significan...
Coronavirus Update 8-26-21: Incentivizing Covid vaccinations through insurance-premium penalties for the unvaccinated
By Jon Hyman
Delta Air Lines has decided to try a different approach to get as many of its employees vaccinated as possible. It's imposing a $200 cha...
Coronavirus Update 8-25-21: Inside the Five responds to John Mandel, and they are not happy
By Jon Hyman
An update on Monday's post , about a Toledo-area brewery that got canceled over a tweet by Senate candidate John Mandel congratulating ...
Coronavirus Update 8-24-21: FDA grants full approval to Pfizer Covid vaccine … but will it make any difference
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the FDA granted full and final approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. Calling the agency's approval "a pivota...
Coronavirus Update 8-23-21: I’ll have a side of Covid with my burger, please
By Jon Hyman
PERRYSBURG, OH — @InsideTheFive is a cool brewery started by two NFL vets. Great food and spirited waitresses! Even though Brianne was sick...
WIRTW #592 (the “welcome back” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Covid has taken a lot from us. One of the things it robbed from this space is its weekly "What I'm Reading This Week" ("W...
Coronavirus Update 8-19-2021: The (Un)Healthy American, along with other more reputable organizations, help Americans dodge vaccine mandates
By Jon Hyman
Meet Peggy Hall. She runs a website called The Healthy American . What is The Healthy American? For starters, it's a website that NewsG...
Coronavirus Update 8-18-2021: Back to school presents fresh challenges for working parents and employers
By Jon Hyman
Today my kids go back to school. 10th grade for Norah and 7th grade for Donovan. I am so thankful that their school is requiring universal m...
Coronavirus Update 8-17-2021: Are your work-from-home employees working more one job from home?
By Jon Hyman
This headline in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye: These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs . A small, dedica...
Coronavirus Update 8-16-2021: With more businesses implementing vaccine mandates, more people turn to illegal fake vaccine cards
By Jon Hyman
With more employers mandating vaccines for their employees, and businesses, cities, and schools doing the same for customers and other non-e...
What Would Ted Do? #WWTD
By Jon Hyman
First, there was my Golden Rule of Employee Relations : Treat your employees as you would want to be treated (or as you would want your wif...
Coronavirus Update 8–12–2021: Justice Department confirms that ADA applies to Covid “long-haulers"
By Jon Hyman
A few weeks ago I opined that the ADA likely covers Covid long-haul symptoms as protected disabilities that employers must accommodate. In ...
Coronavirus Update 8–11–2021: Mad as hell
By Jon Hyman
How are you? Delta is spiking Covid infection rates to their highest levels since last winter. Hospitals are again facing a crisis of space....
Coronavirus Update 8–10–2021: Vaccines and religions accommodation requests
By Jon Hyman
"I need an accommodation for your mandatory vaccination policy. The vaccine is against my religion." As more employers roll out va...
Coronavirus Update 8–9–2021: CNN fires three employees for lying about vaccine status
By Jon Hyman
CNN — which is requiring all in-person employees to be fully vaccinated — has fired three employees for going into the office unvaccinated. ...
The 11th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2021” is … the Cosby Suite
By Jon Hyman
If you're my age, when you hear the name Activision you think of games like Kaboom!, Pitfall!, and the Atari 2600. If you're younger...
Coronavirus Update 8–5–2021: Debunking dangerous anti-vax theories and organizations like The Solari Report
By Jon Hyman
You've read my posts from earlier this week, listened to the newly self-appointed quarterback of Team Vaccine Mandate, and decided to re...
Coronavirus Update 8–4–2021: The dam is breaking on mandatory Covid vaccines, and the flood is coming
By Jon Hyman
The news on mandated Covid vaccinations is coming fast and furious, from courts, governments, and private businesses.
Coronavirus Update 8–3–2021: What the CDC’s new mask guidance actually says and means
By Jon Hyman
Since there was so much confusion that resulted from the last time the CDC updated its mask guidance for the fully vaccinated, I thought it...
Coronavirus Update 8–2–2021: Employers, now is the time to mandate Covid vaccines
By Jon Hyman
As short as a few weeks ago, I'd have told you that the choice to get vaccinated is a personal one, and that employers that mandated the...
Coronavirus Update 7–23–2021: We talkin’ bout masks! We ain’t talkin’ bout the vaccine, we talkin’ bout masks.
By Jon Hyman
I'm not proud of this but i just made a scene in public for the first time in my life… I walked into a Starbucks and they asked me to p...
Coronavirus Update 7–22–2021: How the ADA and FMLA apply to Covid long haulers
By Jon Hyman
The risks associated with Covid-19 aren't limited to the 625,000 Americans this virus has killed or the 2.3 million hospitalizations. On...