NLRB General Counsel goes nuclear on severance agreements in her guidance on McLaren Macomb

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo just released her Guidance in Response to Inquiries about the McLaren Macomb Decision. 

Recall that McLaren Macomb held that garden-variety non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses in workplace severance agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act by unlawfully infringing upon the rights of employees to engage in protected concerted activity.

Just how far does Ms. Abruzzo push the limits of McLaren Macomb in her interpretation?

The 4th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2023” is … the pizza shop pressurizer

Allegations of forced labor and the physical abuse of employees will always land you on my Worst Employer list.

Last week the feds arrested Stavros Papantoniadis, a/k/a Steve Papantoniadis, the owner of Stash's Pizza, on charges of forced labor related to his employment of an undocumented worker and forcing him to work for more than decade through threats of deportation coupled with physical and verbal abuse. 

Federal court permits employer docking from an exempt employee’s PTO bank without violating the FLSA

I think it was Otis Redding who once famously sang, "I'm sittin' on the dock of the pay." 🤔

Whether or not I have that lyric correct, docking an exempt employee's pay is fraught with legal risk that, if done unproperly, could not only jeopardize the exempt status of the employee under the FLSA, but also all employees in the same job classification working for the same managers responsible for the actual deduction.

What about deductions from PTO or other paid leave banks? Do they carry with them the same legal risk. According to the recent opinion of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Higgins v. Bayada Home Health Care, taking deductions from banks of PTO or other paid leave raises no issues whatsoever the FLSA and therefore does not jeopardize any of the statute's exemptions.

Sexual misconduct isn’t a “mistake”

Vince McMahon is the former CEO and current Executive Chairman of the WWE. It's former CEO because he was forced to step down after it came to light that he had allegedly authorized $19.6 million in hush money payments to female employees who had accused him of sexual misconduct. (It's what earned McMahon his nomination for 2022's Worst Employer.) It's current Executive Chairman because he returned to that position earlier this year after previous stepping down for the same reason.

John Cena is a full-time actor and former WWE star who recently returned to the company. 

Consider the following recent Q&A between Cena and the Associated Press:

AP: Is it tough to reconcile the feelings you have toward Vince McMahon with the sexual misconduct accusations made against him? 

CENA: No. I mean, everyone has the right to have their perspective. I have the right to have mine. When you love somebody, you take them as imperfectly perfect as they are. We all make mistakes, we all have poor decisions. Lord knows I've made my collection of poor choices. That doesn't mean I’m not going to love somebody. There's no way I can go on record and say I don't love Vince McMahon.

Sexual misconduct is not a mistake. 

WIRTW #665: the “grim reaper” edition

Earlier this week, I joined the People Problem Podcast to discuss death at work. Grim as it might be, it's an issue that we all face way too often. We talked about appropriate bereavement leaves, how to handle when an employee dies at work, and what best to when a team member dies away from work. It's a can't miss episode (gallows humor included).

You can listen to the episode here and everywhere else you get your podcasts. (And don't forget to subscribe while you're there.)

Here's what I read this past week that you should read, too.

6th Circuit confirms that private employers can do private employer things

Four employees of the J.M. Smucker Company sought religious exemptions from the company's Covid vaccine mandate. When the company refused, they sued, claiming that the mandate infringed on their First Amendment religious liberties.

The 6th Circuit easily concluded that the 1st Amendment does not apply to J.M. Smucker or limits its power to regulate its workplace as it is a private company, not a federal, state, or local government.

EEOC lawsuit highlights risks associated with not accommodating service animals

The EEOC has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Papa John's Pizza claiming that it denied the request of Michael Barnes, who is blind, to bring his service dog — Indie, a black lab — with him to work. After denying his request, the agency alleges, the pizza company fired Barnes. 

This seems like an easy accommodation request to get right, and yet so many employers get it wrong. Here's a handy Q&A for your next service animal accommodation request in your workplace.