Abortion discrimination = pregnancy discrimination

Is there a more controversial topic than abortion? As controversial and divisive as it might be, the law is pretty clear that an employer cannot fire an employee for having one.

Anti-Semitism at work

The devastating events of this past weekend served as a sobering reminder that anti-Semitism not only still exists, but it's thriving.

The reality is that anti-Semitism never went away. It has always been there, bubbling under the surface. The current climate in our country, however, has given it permission to boil over.

WIRTW #529 (the “new music Friday” edition)

From time-to-time I like to use this Friday real estate to share new music I'm listening to. Today's  new music also has a pretty cool origin story.

My wife and I vacationed in Sedona, Arizona, in July. And, as most Sedona tourists do, we took a jeep tour through the red rocks. Our tour guide was Brandon Decker. Over the course of our two hour tour we chatted, not just about Sedona, its history, and its mysticism, but also about our families, jobs, and lives outside of the jeep. 

We learned that when he's not driving tour jeeps, Brandon Decker is a professional musician. And not only a professional musician, but a professional musician with a new album about to drop and a national tour about to begin. We did some digging of our own afterwards. He's very accomplished in the Southwest, with seven albums and the title of 2011's Arizona Songwriter of the Year.

We told him about the musician in our family, too. Which led to an invitation for Norah to join him on stage when he stops in Cleveland on November 8.

So check out decker., and his unique brand of psychedelic Americana. I think you'll enjoy it.

Here's what I read this week:

From the archives: The Employer Bill of Rights

I recently came across an interesting blog, entitled, 10 Workplace Rights You Think You Have — But Still Don't. Written by plaintiff-side employment lawyer Donna Ballman, it suggests that employees have far fewer workplace protections than they might think, and rights like wrongful termination, free speech, and workplace privacy simply do not exist.

That post got me thinking about a post I wrote 7 years ago — The Employer Bill of Rights.

How many n-bombs does it take to create a hostile work environment?

Smelter v. Southern Home Care Services (11th Cir. 9/24/18) answers the question, "How many n-bombs does it take to create an unlawful hostile work environment?"

So as not to bury the lede, the answer is one.

Why the federal government's culture war against LGBTQ rights might not matter

You would do well to remember just how fluid is gender

"Second Wave Goodbye," War on Women

According to the New York Times, the Trump administration is poised to wage war on transgender rights.

The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth….

What you need to know about your office lottery pool

Late Friday afternoon (when the Mega Millions was only a mere billion dollars), I received a phone call from Brian Duffy, a reporter from our local CBS affiliate. "We are doing a story on office lottery pools. Are you the right person for me to interview about some of the legal risks?"

Two hours later, he was sitting in my living room with a cameraperson, interviewing me.