When the rumor mill creates a sexually hostile work environment

Just in time for Valentine's Day, I bring you the story of a employee rumored to be sleeping with her boss to get a promotion. She wasn't, but the workplace rumor mill sure thought she was.

The way we work might be changing, but independent contractors risks are staying exactly the same

The way we work in America is changing. The relationships between companies and their workers are more fluid and varied than in decades past. Our task in this appeal is to apply traditional legal protections to one such relationship. 

So starts the 6th Circuit's opinion in Acosta v. Off Duty Police Servs., which applies the traditional "economic realities" test to determine whether private security and traffic control officers are employees or independent contractors.

One would think that with such a pronouncement at the head of the 6th Circuit's opinion, the court would be making a startling pronouncement broadening the landscape of who qualifies as an independent contractor. Those making that assumption, however, are sorely mistaken.

A textbook lesson the ADA's interactive process

Does an employer have an obligation to return an employee to work following an extended unpaid leave of absence granted as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA?

You might be inclined to say, "Of course." The answer, however, is nuanced, and depends on the length of the leave, the composition of your workforce at the time the employee seeks to return to work, and your efforts to engage in the ADA's interactive process with the employee during the leave.

For your consideration: Brunckhorst v. City of Oak Park Heights.

Emojis are starting to pop up in discrmination and harassment cases 🤔🤷‍♂️

Law.com recently pronounced, "The Emojis are Coming!" That article got me thinking, are they coming to workplace litigation, too? After all, emojis are a form of communication, and work is all about communication. Which would suggest that we would start seeing them in harassment and discrimination cases.

According to Bloomberg Law, mentions of emojis in federal discrimination lawsuits doubled from 2016 to 2017. Let's not get crazy. The doubling went from six cases to 12 cases. But, a trend is a trend.

WIRTW #541 (the “Purl” edition)

Purl is an online-only Pixar short about a ball of yarn appropriately named Purl who gets a job in a bro-tastic workplace. As the only female, and only ball of yarn, working at B.R.O. Capital, she struggles to fit and yearns for acceptance from her all male, all human, co-workers. Purl's story has a lot to say about diversity and inclusion, and is well worth the just under nine minutes of your time.


Here's what I read this week:

FINRA's new "Best Practices" for Cybersecurity is MUST reading for any employer

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued its Report on Selected Cybersecurity Practices – 2018 [pdf].

The Report identifies five common cybersecurity risks and outlines recommended practices for each:

• Branch controls
• Phishing attacks
• Insider threats
• Penetration testing
• Mobile devices 

While FINRA only regulates securities firms, the five topics its Report covers should be required reading for any employer that wants to understand how to implement cybersecurity best practices.

President Trump calls for federal paid family leave during State of the Union

Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act being signed into law. During last night's State of the Union Address, President Trump called for Congress to make paid family leave a federal law.

I am also proud to be the first president to include in my budget a plan for nationwide paid family leave — so that every new parent has the chance to bond with their newborn child.