Can a hug create a hostile work environment? According to this court, yes.

Edward Prieto, the sheriff of Yolo County, California, likes to hug his co-workers … a lot. According to Victoria Zetwick, a county correctional office and the plaintiff in Zetwick v. County of Yolo (9th Cir. 2/23/17) [pdf], during the 12 years they worked together, Prieto hugged her hundreds of times. Zetwick also claimed that during that same time frame, Prieto hugged several dozen other female employees, but never male employees. Others, however, testified that Prieto also hugged me, just not as frequently as women. Zetwick alleged that a result she found it difficult to concentrate, and that she was constantly stressed and anxious about Prieto’s touching, which she believed had sexual overtones.

I birthed a rock star

On Friday, Rhett Miller, lead singer of my favorite band, the Old 97’s, and undoubtedly one of the good guys, held a Reddit AMA. I asked him what he knows now that he wishes he knew when he started in the music business over 25 years ago. His answer included this gem:

The important thing is that THE WORLD NEEDS MUSIC. And there will always be folks (like your sweet daughter) who will make that music!

Saturday night, my sweet daughter made that music, and then some.

Norah (age 10)

WIRTW #450 (the “Kurt” edition)

Earlier this week, Kurt Cobain would have turned 50 years old. Uncoincidentally, also earlier this week Norah stepped in for an absent bandmate to sing lead on the song that made Kurt Cobain and Nirvana a household name, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. I think Kurt would have approved.

And some video - Smells Like Teen Spirit. Love the energy and how much fun the kids are having on stage.

A post shared by Jon Hyman (@jonhyman) on Feb 20, 2017 at 4:01am PST

This Saturday night, I’ll be at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, watching this band kill it in front of thousands as part of the High School Rock Off Final Exam. They are scheduled to hit at 9:25. Tickets are only $12, and include admission to the Rock Hall. It a great night watching the best the area’s school-aged musicians.

Here’s what I read this week.

What’s good for the goose … NLRB protects employee’s Facebook post critical of his union

It won’t take much searching through the archives to find posts discussing the NLRB’s protections for employees’ Facebook posts critical of their employers (here, for example). Protected speech under the NLRA, however, cuts both ways. Section 7 not only protects anti-employer comments, but also anti-union comments. Thus, it would make sense that the NLRB would conclude, as it recently did in International Union of North America, Local Union No. 91 [pdf], that section 7 protects an employee who posts on Facebook comments critical of his labor union.

“If I could press a button and instantly vaporize one sector of employment law?” (redux)

Nearly six years ago, Walter Olson, writing as his Overlawyered blog, asked the following question:

“If I could press a button and instantly vaporize one sector of employment law…”?

This was my answer:

"A Day Without Immigrants" protests followed by days without work for fired employees

Last Thursday, in protest against President Trump’s immigration policy, people nationwide participated in “A Day Without Immigrants.” As part of the protest, many businesses closed their doors to show what our nation would look like without immigrants. In addition, many immigrants simply did not go to work.
As a result, many now find themselves unemployed.

Paw-ternity leave is a great idea, but please don’t forget about us humans

This is Loula, our vizsla.

We love our dog. And, when we brought her home four summers ago, it was a great benefit to our family that my wife had yet to return to work. She was home for Loula’s first two months, to acclimate her to our house and family. What if, however, you lack the luxury of not working during your puppy’s first few weeks at home?

BrewDog, a Scottish brewery set to open up in Columbus this Spring, has your answer—paw-ternity leave.