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.