WIRTW #437 (the “Elevate HR” edition)

Elevate HR is the largest virtual HR conference in the world. And, for the second straight year, I am thrilled to be one of the more than 50 industry leaders chosen to present.

I’ll be discussing a vitally important, yet too often overlooked, issue — Cybersecurity for HR. In this session, you will learn the most important steps you can take right now to train your employees on effective cybersecurity awareness, to place your company in the best position to protect against a costly data breach.

Join me and other industry for Elevate 2016 on November 10th. Because it’s a virtual conference, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your desk. And the best part? It’s100% free.

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Here’s what I read this week.

Employers, do not ignore obvious disability accommodations

All the way back in 2014, I wrote the following:

An employee must ask for ADA accommodation to receive it.

That is, an employee must ask for an accommodation unless the employee’s need for an accommodation is so obvious that the employer cannot reasonably turn a blind eye toward it.

Case in point? Kowitz v. Trinity Health (8th Cir. 10/17/16).

Time off from work to vote

Tuesday is Election Day (oh, thank God). As long as Election Day remains a working day, employees will show up to work late, leave work early, or take long lunches, just so that they can vote.

Ohio law requires that an employer provide all employees a reasonable amount of time off to vote on election day. According to Ohio Revised Code 3599.06:

Don’t forget the fluctuating workweek for your salaried nonexempt employees

Are you still struggling with how to handle your currently exempt employees who, one month from today, will earn less than $913 per week? If you have a salaried employee, no matter what they do on a day-to-day basis, if he or she earn less than $913 per week, beginning December 1 that employee will be non-exempt no matter what.

Let me offer a suggestion you may not yet have considered—the fluctuating workweek.

Feds publish a Halloween trick for employers

Have you seen Worker.gov? It is a how-to manual for employees to file charges with the full gauntlet of federal labor-and-employment agencies―EEOC, NLRB, OSHA, and DOL Wage-and-Hour Division.

WIRTW #436 (the "Purdy good music" edition)

Norah and Rhett

Joe Purdy has been around for awhile. That I’d never heard of him before I bought my ticket to see him play with Rhett Miller last Saturday night is my fault, not his. The fact is that I should have heard of this thoughtful, folksy singer-songwriter, given that he contributed a song to one of my all-time favorite television shows, Lost.

So with no knowledge or preconceived expectations, we settled into our front-row seats at The Kent Stage to see Joe Purdy, and we were blown away. His positive message, clever lyrics, and dry wit completely entertained us.

“An example,” you ask? Here’s Joe performing an unrecorded track about his 4th grade girlfriend, Laura Wilson. If you listen closely at 1:37, you’ll hear me drop my iPhone, followed by an embarrassed, “Dad...!” from Norah, and Joe stopping the song to chat to us, amused by the whole interaction.


Check out Joe Purdy if he comes through your town. You won’t be disappointed.

Here’s what I read this week:

The White House challenges states to reform non-compete agreements

This week, the White House announced a call to action to reform non-compete agreements [pdf]. Instead of proposing sweeping federal legislation, it is asking each state to pass non-compete reforms. This call to action comes on the heels of a joint White House/Treasury Department report [pdf] issued this past spring addressing the use, issues, and state responses to non-competition agreements.