Hug it out, just not necessarily at work

“Do hugs belong in the workplace?“ is the headline of a story on Cleveland.com that caught my attention.

The hug just may be on its way to competing with the handshake as a common workplace greeting. The percentage of people who say they would hug co-workers—that they either know well or haven’t seen in awhile—nearly doubled from five years ago, according to a recent poll.

Of course, one person’s hug is another’s creepy gesture or, worse, inappropriate advance. Where is the workplace line?

Intermittent FMLA does not permit sleeping on the job (usually)

Let’s say you have an employee approved for intermittent FMLA for migraine headaches. Let’s also say co-workers of said employees find her asleep at work during her shift. When you fire the sleeping, migraine suffering employee, do you have potential worries under the FMLA?

According to Lasher v. Medina Hops. (N.D. Ohio 2/5/16), the answer is a resounding “no”. The issue, however, is not as cut-and-dry as this case makes it seem.

Scalia

I was on my way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to watch my daughter perform at the High School Rock Off when my phone started going nuts with updates, letting me know that Justice Antonin Scalia had unexpectedly passed away. Everyone will not agree on his legal and constitutional interpretations, but everyone universally agrees that without him, Supreme Court oral arguments will be much less interesting, and Supreme Court opinions will be a whole lot more boring. I cannot remember a Supreme Court without his sharp wit and styling prose, which cannot be replaced.

WIRTW #400 (the “400th” edition)

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

You cannot afford to sleep on harassment complaints

Yesterday, I suggested that harassment prevention is a 365-days-a-year job for employers. Apparently, some employers still need to learn this lesson.

Case in point? Smith v. Rock-Tenn Services, decided yesterday by the 6th Circuit.

I hate Valentine’s Day, and employers should too

I hate Valentine’s Day. It’s not a visceral hate; it’s more of a disgustful annoyance. And, no, it’s not because I’m not romantic. Quite the opposite. I believe that we don’t need a special day to celebrate love, but that you do so by how you treat your other half all 365 days of the year. (I love you Colleen). Thankfully my wife’s not a fan of the Day either, so I lose no points for omitting the clichéd dozen roses or candle-lit dinner.

Do you know who else should not be a fan of Valentine’s Day? Employers. Here are three reasons why.

Lying about medical leave fatal to disability claim

On Saturday my 7-year-old made his first reconciliation. To what could a 7-year-old possibly have to confess? If you list the 10 big ones, lying would probably take the top spot for the 7-year-old set. It’s a life lesson, however, that some never seem to learn.

Case in point? Mattessich v. Weatherfield Township (Ohio Ct. App. 2/8/16) [pdf], in which a depression-suffering police officer was terminated for lying about his medical leave.

A labor union filed an Uber-huge representation petition with the NLRB

Politico New York reported last week that International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1430, petitioned the NLRB to represent 600 New York area Uber drivers. You can read the representation petition here.

Uber is locked in a battles all over the county with its drivers, defending lawsuits claiming that its drivers are employees for wage-and-hour purposes. This case, however, brought in the most employee friendly forum Uber drivers could possibly find, is the first attempt by drivers to organize. And because of the employee-friendliness of the NLRB, this story has the potential to be absolutely huge.

WIRTW #399 (the “happy” edition)

So we’re in the car Wednesday night, and I mention to the fam that I’m excited because, today, a new Starbucks is opening downstairs from my office. Without missing a beat, and with complete sincerity, Donovan, my 7-year-old, says, “Oh dad, I’m so happy for you.” I love my kids.

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Can an employer prohibit an employee from job hunting during FMLA leave?

Earlier this week, an employee out on FMLA leave posed the following question to the Evil HR Lady:

While I am out for surgery, I was informed of a new job in another hospital. It looks like no one has applied for the position.… Can I apply for this job while I am on leave? What is the consequence of doing so? Can they take my pay back? On one of the FMLA paperwork, it states no job hunting while on FMLA. Is that true? I do not want to be in some legal battle.

Now is the time to restore balance to Ohio’s employment discrimination law: Endorsing the Employment Law Uniformity Act

For lack of more artful description, Ohio’s employment discrimination law is a mess. It exposes employers to claims for up to six years, renders managers and supervisors personally liable for discrimination, contains no less than four different ways for employees to file age discrimination claims (each with different remedies and filing deadlines), and omits any filing prerequisites with the state civil rights agency.

Monday, State Senator Bill Seitz introduced Senate Bill 268 [pdf], the Employment Law Uniformity Act. It is a business-friendly attempt at comprehensive reform of Ohio’s employment discrimination statute.

The top 10 mistakes employers keep repeating

Today is Groundhog Day, which, because of the eponymous Bill Murray movie, has become synonymous with repeating the same mistakes over, and over, and over…

In that spirit, I thought we’d take a look at the 10 biggest mistakes that employers keep making.

In no particular order:

EEOC proposed significant pay equality changes to EEO-1

If your company has 100 or more employees, you should be very familiar with the federal government’s EEO-1 survey. The EEOC requires that you annually complete and file this form, which requests demographic on your employees, broken down by protected classes and job categories.

Last Friday, the White House made a game changing announcement about the information it proposes you submit in your EEO-1 filings.

WIRTW #398 (the “doorbell” edition)

Someday, Donovan will comb through the archives of this blog and ask, “Dad, you sure wrote a lot about Norah’s music. What about mine?”

So, in the name of equal time and equal pride, I bring you Zombie Fried Chicken, with Donovan on keys (and big sis on drums), doing the White Stripes “My Doorbell.” (Donovan’s song intro, by the way, was totally spontaneous and improvised, and purely adorable).


Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Consensus starting to form around reasonable reporting rules for off-the-clock overtime pay

It’s been a few years since the 6th Circuit held, in White v. Baptist Memorial Hosp., that an employer is not liable for unpaid overtime if the employee fails to follow an established, reasonable process for to report uncompensated work time.

Yesterday, following the logic of White, the 5th Circuit reached a similar conclusion:

Guest Post: Social Business and HR, Part 2

By Mike Wise

First, thanks again to Jon Hyman for the chance to write on a different but related topic – Social Business. As I mentioned in Part 1, I’m finding that a surprisingly high percentage of HR folks have not yet tapped into the incredible power of the Social Web. Perhaps this series will be helpful, at least at a high level. Feel free to question or comment in the Disqus form at the end of the post.

In Part 1 of this 3-part series on Social Business, the subject was Online Reputation Management. In this Part 2, the focus will be on Social Business and Internal Communications. We will finish the series in Part 3 with a look at the 3 R’s - Recruiting, Recognition, and Retention and how Social Business amplifies those efforts.

DOL doubles down on joint employment under the FMLA

Yesterday, we looked at the DOL’s recent guidance on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Simultaneously with its FLSA guidance, the DOL also published guidance on joint employment under the FMLA, and it’s definitely worth you time.

The federal assault on joint employment continues

First it was the NLRB. Next it was OSHA. Now, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is taking its turn cracking down on joint employment.

Last week, the WHD launched a microsite entitled, Joint Employment under the FLSA. Most notably, this site included the publication a new Administrator’s Interpretation, which picks up the NLRB’s liberalized joint employer standard by relying on indirect or potential control, in addition to actual control, as the lynchpin of joint employment.

WIRTW #397 (the “Woodstock” edition)

I'm well aware that I write a lot about my daughter’s music, but I do so because (a) I know a lot you enjoy it, and (b) I’m a really proud dad. Today, I’m doing so again, because last Saturday Norah blew me away. Her “Psychedelic 60s” show closed with the Jefferson Airplane classic “Somebody to Love”, with Norah absolutely killing it on lead vocals.


You have another chance to catch the show live, tomorrow at the Music Box Supper Club. Norah’s band takes the stage at 1 pm, and the show is free.

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

SCOTUS calls a balk on attempted class-action pick-offs

It’s been almost three years since the Supreme Court decided, in Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk, that an employer moots an FLSA collective action when the named plaintiff rejects an offer of judgment that would have satisfied all of the claims brought in the case.

Or did it?