WIRTW #142 (“It’s the bitches that’ll get yas” edition)
Earlier this month, the Second Circuit, in Pucino v. Verizon Communications , held that repeated use of the word “bitch” could create a host...
6th Circuit re-defines walking time as working time under the FLSA
By Jon Hyman
In June, the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division issued an Administrator’s Interpretation finding that that the time spent by employees donning ...
You are what you wear—at least according to the 6th Circuit and “donning and doffing”
By Jon Hyman
Section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows an employer to refuse to pay employees for time spent changing clothes if it has been ...
Do you know? Challenging non-competition agreements
By Jon Hyman
While my practice is heavily slanted towards the representation of management in employment disputes, from time to time I represent employee...
Not another post on wage and hour class actions?
By Jon Hyman
I know what you’re thinking—not another post on wage and hour compliance. Workplace compliance specialist ELT published the results of a rec...
WIRTW #141 (the creepy-crawly edition)
By Jon Hyman
It all started with a short press release from the National Pest Management Association , which announced the results of the 2010 Comprehens...
Wal-Mart seeks Supreme Court review of billion-dollar class action
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the nation’s largest private employer asked the Supreme Court to review the class certification of the nation’s largest employmen...
The worst feeling ever, and importance of candor
By Jon Hyman
Imagine a sexual harassment EEOC charge which alleges that a corporate executive displayed pornographic images on his computer to a female ...
Do you know? The Department of Labor updates its strategic plan for the next five years
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this year, the Department of Labor launched its We Can Help website , offering employees a one-stop-shop for wage and hour informati...
Helping those who help themselves: Be wary of common law retaliation claims
By Jon Hyman
Just because a specific statute does not provide a remedy to a terminated employee does not mean that the employee cannot pursue a claim. In...
WIRTW #140 (the social media training edition)
By Jon Hyman
I spend part of this week conducting social media training for a client. I spoke to groups of managers and supervisors. What surprised me mo...
Evidence of moonlighting and misuse of email system prove fatal to retaliation claim
By Jon Hyman
Rudolph Escher claimed that he was terminated in retaliation for complaints he made about his employer’s designation and accounting of his m...
Do you know? Handbook disclaimers
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I noted that employees often feign ignorance of employee handbooks . Here’s a textbook example. In Steadman v. Sterilite Corp. ...
On Dustin Johnson and knowing the rules: A lesson for your employees
By Jon Hyman
Rule 13.4 of the USGA’s Rules of Golf provides a two stroke penalty for grounding one’s club in a hazard. Certainly Dustin Johnson knew thi...
A real life example of the difference between the old ADA and the amended ADA
By Jon Hyman
Two years after Mantych Metalworking hired Dan Wallace, he suffered a heart attack. He also had a history of back problems. Five years later...
WIRTW #139 (bald is beautiful edition)
By Jon Hyman
At 37, I’m pretty comfortable in my baldness. I’m not sure if it was Michael Jordan, or finding me wife, who loves me for me, bald head and ...
More on pregnancy as a disability
By Jon Hyman
The more I think about yesterday’s post discussing Spees v. James Marine, Inc. —which held that pregnancy-related impairments that are not p...
Pregnant = disabled, at least according to the 6th Circuit
By Jon Hyman
The Americans with Disabilities Act expressly excludes pregnancy as a disability. Or at least that’s what it says, and what I’ve always beli...
Do you know? What triggers the duty of reasonable accommodation?
By Jon Hyman
Suppose an employee suffers from sleep apnea, which keeps the employee awake for periods of time at night. In fact, the employee’s nighttime...
California court declares open season on stray workplace remarks
By Jon Hyman
Traditionally, an employee cannot use stray remarks in the workplace to prove discrimination. Under the stray remarks doctrine, courts deem ...