Facebook Messenger and other alternative communication channels for attendance call-outs

An employee uses Facebook Messenger to notify his supervisor of a medical absence, ignoring the company's policy that requires employees to use a specific call-in line to notify their supervisor of a tardy or absence at least 30 minutes before their shift begins.

Are these absences FMLA-protected excused absences, or unexcused absences subject to termination?

In 2019, Kasey Roberts took six weeks of leave to undergo and recover from an emergency appendectomy, after notifying his supervisor via Facebook Messenger. A few days after returning, Roberts was hospitalized for a post-surgical infection. He again sent his supervisor several Facebook messages notifying of his absences.

After Roberts missed three more weeks of work, his employer fired him for job abandonment, claiming that all of his absences were unexcused since the call-in line, and not Facebook Messenger, was its "usual and customary" system for medical leave notice.

Let’s play FLSA error-spotting

Empire Diner pays its servers a tipped minimum wage of $2.83, the permissible tipped minimum wage in the state in which it's located, Pennsylvania. According to the company's payroll records, each employee earns more than the statutory minimum wage, $7.25 per hour.

So far, so good under the Fair Labor Standards Act. So where did Empire Diner make its FLSA mistakes, according to the 3rd Circuit?

The 10th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2023” is … the jack(a$$) in the box

The EEOC recently filed a lawsuit against a Jack in the Box restaurant owned and operated by Eastbox LLC, alleging sexual harassment against teen and young adult female employees. 

The allegations are horrific. 

WIRTW #687: the “red rain” edition

What was your worst day at work? 

If you work at Destilaria Levira, in Levira, Portugal, it was almost certainly this past weekend, when two wine storage vats exploded, flooding the town with 2.2m liters of "good quality" red wine. 

But a company is not defined by its disasters, it's defined by how it handles them after the fact. And this business handled his disaster very, very well.

"Dear Neighbors," its Facebook post began. 

We deeply regret the incident that occurred this morning involving the bursting of 2 suitable-to-consumption DOC wine storage units stemming from the extraordinary government support measure to producers and wineries of the Distillation Crisis 2023 motivated by the excess of wine in the country. 

Although the incident did not cause any injuries, we want to express our sincere concern for the damage caused in general in Levira and in particular to his home.  

 

The causes of the incident are being investigated by the competent authorities. 

We take full responsibility for the costs associated with damage cleanup and repair, with crews available to do it immediately. We're committed to resolving this situation as soon as possible.

Please keep photographic records of damages and damages and contact us to discuss the details and coordinate the necessary procedures. We are available at any time to help you resolve this issue.

Once again we apologize for the inconvenience caused and we're committed to doing whatever is necessary to remedy the situation.

Thank you very much and once again, we are very sorry.

Repeat after me: Never, ever, ever ignore court orders

Have you ever heard of a "writ of body attachment?" Me neither, until yesterday. That's when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued one against Timothy and Carley Dillett, two corporate officials of Haven Salon + Spa, and ordered federal marshals to take them into custody.

What did the Dilletts do to earn the ire of a federal appeals court and wind up in custody?

They repeatedly and willfully ignored the NLRB's and the Court's orders.

If you bet on which of your employees will get Covid, you probably shouldn’t qualify for a bonus

In late 2020, Tyson Foods fired seven of its pork processing plant managers after they were caught betting on which of their employees would next get sick with Covid. At that time, more than 1,000 Tyson employees had fallen ill, and six had died. In announcing the firings, the company's President and CEO said, "The behaviors exhibited by these individuals do not represent the Tyson core values, which is why we took immediate and appropriate action to get to the truth. Now that the investigation has concluded, we are taking action based on the findings."

Not content with leaving well enough alone, five of the seven fired managers sued Tyson Foods claiming that the company owed them a bonus payment pursuant to the company's Annual Incentive Plan. 

The 9th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2023” is … the cake boss

Telling an employee to "Eat a Dick" won't earn you a nomination for the Worst Employer of 2023. 

Writing "Eat a Dick" on the inside lid of a box holding a penis-shaped cake you have delivered to an employee won't even earn you a nomination for the Worst Employer of 2023. 

But doing so when you're the company's HR manager? That will earn you a well-deserved nomination to this year's list.