When your top talent drops the leg on your trade secrets…
Carma HoldCo—the company behind the Real American Beer concept—is laying the legal smackdown on two of its former execs, Chad Bronstein and ...
Being a workplace star doesn't excuse bad behavior. In fact, it demands more accountability, not less.
By Jon Hyman
Teenage football phenom Lamine Yamal made headlines for all the wrong reasons this weekend. At his 18th birthday party, he allegedly hired p...
WIRTW #765: the 'It's a Bird… It's a Plane…' edition
By Jon Hyman
Superman is an undocumented immigrant who punches Nazis . And if that makes him "woke," then maybe we need more woke heroes. MAGAw...
Apple takes a bite of the NLRB in 5th Circuit ruling
By Jon Hyman
In the workplace, not all questions are coercive and not all policy enforcements are discriminatory. Case in point: Apple v. NLRB , in which...
Yes, you can be fired for what you say outside of work… especially when it's hateful.
By Jon Hyman
In Darlingh v. Maddaleni , the Seventh Circuit just upheld the firing of a school counselor who gave a profanity-laced anti-trans tirade at ...
The 7th nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Sadistic Chef
By Jon Hyman
A jury just awarded $3.15 million to 22-year-old Andrew DeBellis—a sous chef who, over a brutal 2.5-month stretch, was punched, slapped, ki...
Title VII requires harm; not just hate
By Jon Hyman
This week, America First Legal, a right-wing conservative organization founded by Stephen Miller, fired off a letter to the EEOC accusing t...
The "Restoring Biological Truth to the Workplace Act" isn't about truth, it's about protecting bigotry
By Jon Hyman
It's called the Restoring Biological Truth to the Workplace Act . But let's be honest: it's just a license to discriminate. Sena...
You want to avoid a labor union in your business? Then don't do this.
By Jon Hyman
Two pediatricians at Cleveland's University Hospitals used an internal physician directory to contact colleagues about forming a union. ...
WIRTW #764: the 'substack' edition
By Jon Hyman
Introducing Authoritarian Alarm: A New Home for a Critical Conversation For the past 18+ years, I've written about the intersection of ...
Without HR, you're not running a business. You're running a liability factory.
By Jon Hyman
"I want to be the first company without HR." That's the viral line from Jennifer Sey , who founded XX-XY Athletics in March 20...
PIPs are performance improvement plans, not employee termination plans
By Jon Hyman
The point of a performance improvement plan isn't to fire someone, it's to help them improve. It's right there is the name. But ...
I want my records back, records back, records back
By Jon Hyman
When you destroy the evidence that could justify a termination, don’t be surprised when a court refuses to take your side. That's the me...
WIRTW #763: the 'shiny and new' edition
By Jon Hyman
Our new website is live! I am excited to share that Wickens Herzer Panza has officially launched a completely redesigned website . Our goal ...
🚨 SCOTUS refused to extend Bostock—but it also didn't gut it. That matters, a lot.
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, in U.S. v. Skrmetti , the Supreme Court held that states can constitutionally prohibit puberty blockers and hormone therapy for t...
FIFA gets a red card for its missing anti-discrimination stance
By Jon Hyman
FIFA says it has a zero-tolerance policy against racism and discrimination. But during this year's inaugural Club World Cup—in the Unite...
When immigration policy change overnight…
By Jon Hyman
What's an employer supposed to do when immigration policy shifts overnight? That's the question employers across the country are now...
A dog of a workplace lesson
By Jon Hyman
Last weekend, I got bit by the doggie mayor of Boston's Seaport . His name is Bennett . He's a 9-month-old golden retriever. And whi...
WIRTW #762: the 'cheers' edition
By Jon Hyman
🚨 BREAKING: The death of craft beer has been greatly exaggerated. According to a new 2024 economic impact study from the Ohio Craft Brewer...
The 6th nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Terrible Trafficker
By Jon Hyman
HotHead Grabba is now officially in the hot seat. A 74-count indictment charges owner Hunter Segree and two managers with operating a tobac...