What it’s like to be sued by your employee

When you litigate, you’re losing.

This is an odd statement for a litigator to make. But it’s true.

The 19th nominee for the “worst employer of 2017” is … the pizza punisher

Your 19th nominee for the worst employer of 2017 is a Jacksonville, Florida, Pizza Hut franchisee that threatened its employees if they skipped work because of Hurricane Irma.

WIRTW #476 (the “… punk rocker” edition)

Genetics is a funny thing. We have no idea where Norah got her musical chops, as neither my wife nor I are anywhere close to what one would call musical.

Consider this, however. Joey Ramone’s real name was Jeffrey Hyman. Could this be the source of Norah’s musical chops (and her height)?

My dad says not to count on it. I’m holding out hope.

Norah will be doing her punk thing this Sunday and next Saturday at Slim and Chubby’s, 5 pm and 3 pm, respectfully. D-man precedes her at 3 pm (Sunday) and 1 pm (next Saturday) playing some Beatles tunes. 

Here’s what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Not Giving Employees Something (Namely a Discrimination Complaint) To Talk About — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Can a man claim pregnancy discrimination? A man, baby! — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• Liability for abetting workplace bias — via Walter Olson’s Overlawyered
• I keep finding my coworker in a compromising position … with himself — via Ask a Manager
• Unbelievable – Health Care Providers Sued For Disability Discrimination — via Above the Law

HR & Employee Relations

• Second-guessing the advice columns: Bad HR practices aren’t necessarily illegal. — via Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
• How HR Can Help Employees Handle Natural Disasters Again — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
• Yes, you can be fired for missing work while fleeing Hurricane Irma — via Wonkblog
• Employee theft robs US businesses of $50B annually — via HR Dive 
• Swimming Pool Company’s Non-Compete Claim Takes a Dive — via Suits by Suits
• Don’t Steal My Employees When You Quit – the Anti-Raid Provision — via Smooth Transitions
• Employment Authorization Issues Related to DACA Rescission — via Currents

Wage & Hour

• Chipotle Asks Court to Hold Employees in Contempt — via CUE, Inc.
• Does an Exempt Employee Need Permission to Leave the Office? — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• Does Paying Time and a Half For Certain Work Count Toward Overtime? [Wage & Hour FAQ] — via Wage & Hour Insights
• If an Employee Attends a Beyonce Concert While on FMLA Leave, Can She Be Terminated? — via Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights

Labor

• HR In a Union Shop: Here’s What Your Supervisors Need to Know — via TLNT
• Are you taping me? Audio and video recording in the workplace — via Technology for HR

OSHA & Safety

• Drug testing and OSHA retaliation – can employers test or not? — via Employee Benefits News
• Workers’ Compensation Coverage Of Off-Duty Injuries — via Employment Essentials

The more things change … the NLRB and Weingarten rights for non-union employees

Today, a joke.

“How is the National Labor Relations Board like the weather?”

“I don’t know, Jon, how?”

“If you don’t like either, just wait and they’ll change.”

[groan]

Not my best material, I know. But, it does illustrate an important point, driven home by an Advice Memo [pdf] just released by the NLRB Office of General Counsel on the issue of Weingarten rights for non-union employees.

The 18th nominee for the “worst employer of 2017” is … the pumping preventer

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a six-figure verdict in favor of a Stephanie Hicks, a former narcotics task force investigator for the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, police department. She sued, and won, after her former employer refused to permit her to pump her breast milk after returning from maternity leave.

A refresher on pre-employment medical examinations

Do you require medical exams of applicants before they start working for you? If so, do you know the rules that the ADA requires you follow?

Last month, the EEOC settled a lawsuit it brought against a Florida staffing firm for alleged unlawful pre-employment medical exams under the ADA, which serves as a good reminder for employers of these rules.

Where is the line between lawful (but awful) bullying and unlawful harassment?

Consider the following allegations of sexual harassment levied by Pamela Daniels, a secretary in the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office, against her boss, County Prosecutor Charles Robert Junk.

And then let’s answer the age-old question—lawful (but awful) bullying or unlawful harassment?