The No Robot Bosses Act

"I, for one, welcome our robot overlords." 🙃

Consider this scenario. "You're a delivery driver and your employer's tracking algorithm determines you’re not performing up to its standards — and then sends you an email to let you know you've been fired without any warning or opportunity to speak to a human being." According to Senator Bob Casey, it is this example, along with others, that caused him to draft the the "No Robot Bosses Act."

If enacted, it would add protections for job applicants and employees related to automated decision systems and would require employers to disclose when and how these systems are being used.

Managing an overly sensitive employee

Floyd Sesson, a Black UPS parts mechanic, saw race discrimination in every turn within his workplace.

When UPS changed its policy to prohibit overtime for all parts mechanics, Sesson claimed that the policy unlawfully targeted him because of his race.

When Sesson complained to management about the overtime cuts, he claimed he further lost overtime in retaliation for his complaints.

When supervisors tried to manage Sesson, he claimed they were harassing him because of his race.

The 6th Circuit had little difficulty in affirming the dismissal of Sesson's discrimination, retaliation, and harassment lawsuit.

The time has come to legislate gluten-free food

"I'm gluten free…"

That's how my 15-year-old starts his order at every restaurant. He has Celiac disease and gets very ill anytime he eats gluten.

For the uninformed, Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract when gluten — a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye — is ingested. When someone with Celiac disease eats gluten, the lining of the small intestine is damaged. In Donovan's case he gets serious gastrointestinal symptoms, sometimes for days.

Thus, Donovan is very particular in what he eats and how he orders, as was the case last week at the Fargo Bar & Grill, a dinnertime stop we made while visiting family on the Finger Lakes last weekend.

WIRTW #680: the “walk up song” edition

Above the Law thinks that it's time for lawyers to have walk-up songs. 

History says that the walk-up song started at Old Comiskey Park in 1970, with the White Sox organist playing each player's home state song as they walked up to the plate. Over time, the tradition expanded to other ballparks and different music. 

What's the most famous walk-up song of all time? I'd argue Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn's "Wild Thing" (from the movie "Major League"). In real life? Mariano Rivera's "Enter Sandman"? Chase Utley's "Kashmir"? Trevor Hoffman's "Hells Bells"?

Which brings me back to the question posed by Above the Law: What would our lives be like if our own theme songs accompanied us while we work? 

It's a great question. I think mine would be "Career Opportunities" by The Clash. Driving guitar + a workplace theme = gold for this employment lawyer.

How about you? What walk-up song would you choose for your job?

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

6th Circuit opinion guts the validity of e-signatures on employment documents

"I never saw that agreement and I never signed it." That's all that Andrew Bazemore said under oath in defense of Papa John's claim that he was required to arbitrate his FLSA claim relating to an under-reimbursement of vehicle expenses.

The 6th Circuit held that Bazemore's otherwise unsupported declaration was enough to create an issue of fact as to the arbitrability of his claim. 

X marks the spot

There's nothing inherently illegal about naming one of your conference rooms "s3xy." If, however, your company has a history of allegations of sexual harassment and other sex discrimination, it's not the wisest choice.

"s3Xy" is among the names X (née Twitter) chose to rebrand the conference rooms inside its corporate offices. X's sister companies, SpaceX and Tesla, have a long history of defending sexual harassment lawsuits (and allegedly retaliating against the victims). All of these companies have one thing in common — Elon Musk.

WIRTW #679: the “Portugal. The Podcast” edition

It's been a hot minute since my daughter and I recorded an episode of our podcast, The Norah and Dad Show. It only took a Portuguese holiday to get us off our duffs to record. It was a trip more than three years in the making (thanks to Covid), and we made the most of it — 12 days spread across Porto, Peniche, and Lisbon. On the episode we share our favorites from each of our three stops, some restaurant recommendations, cool sights and sounds (peacocks!), and our overall impressions of an amazing country.

You'll find it wherever you get you podcasts, including Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, and on the web.

When you finished listening to The Norah and Dad Show, I have two additional podcasts I recorded this week that you should also check out: The World at Work Workspan Podcast (discussing the significance of SCOTUS's end-of-term flurry of opinions) and DriveThru HR''s Labor Relatedly (discussing the ongoing Hollywood labor strikes and what they mean for all employers).

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