Two recent EEOC cases illustrate the importance of employers engaging in the ADA’s interactive process to determine if one can offer a disabled employee a reasonable accommodation.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Two reasons not to forget about the ADA’s interactive process
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Friday, February 19, 2016
WIRTW #401 (the “rock off” edition)
Last Saturday night Norah performed to a crowd of 1000-plus inside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We weren’t allowed backstage, but heard that she was pacing a trench of nerves into the Rock Hall’s floor before her band took the stage. Was she nervous about having to perform in front of a crowd that large in the most important gig of her young life? Nope. “I don’t get nervous about that, dad.” She was just nervous that the cold she’d been fighting would cause her voice to crack. It didn’t, and she rocked the Rock Hall.
A video posted by Jon Hyman (@jonhyman) on
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, February 18, 2016
Essential reading: Harvard Business Review’s step-by-step guide to fire someone
File this under posts I wish I’d written. Yesterday, the Harvard Business Review published A Step-by-Step Guide to Firing Someone.
Firing an employee is the most difficult job any business owner, executive, manager, or HR person has to do. I’ve been there. It absolutely sucks. (And it absolutely sucks even more when the fired employee breaks down and starts crying). HBR synthesizes the process in three essentials tips to handle the decision, and five (not-so-easy) steps for the termination itself.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Hug it out, just not necessarily at work
“Do hugs belong in the workplace?“ is the headline of a story on Cleveland.com that caught my attention.
The hug just may be on its way to competing with the handshake as a common workplace greeting. The percentage of people who say they would hug co-workers—that they either know well or haven’t seen in awhile—nearly doubled from five years ago, according to a recent poll.
Of course, one person’s hug is another’s creepy gesture or, worse, inappropriate advance. Where is the workplace line?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Intermittent FMLA does not permit sleeping on the job (usually)
Let’s say you have an employee approved for intermittent FMLA for migraine headaches. Let’s also say co-workers of said employees find her asleep at work during her shift. When you fire the sleeping, migraine suffering employee, do you have potential worries under the FMLA?
According to Lasher v. Medina Hops. (N.D. Ohio 2/5/16), the answer is a resounding “no”. The issue, however, is not as cut-and-dry as this case makes it seem.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, February 15, 2016
Scalia
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Friday, February 12, 2016
WIRTW #400 (the “400th” edition)
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Thursday, February 11, 2016
You cannot afford to sleep on harassment complaints
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, February 10, 2016
I hate Valentine’s Day, and employers should too
I hate Valentine’s Day. It’s not a visceral hate; it’s more of a disgustful annoyance. And, no, it’s not because I’m not romantic. Quite the opposite. I believe that we don’t need a special day to celebrate love, but that you do so by how you treat your other half all 365 days of the year. (I love you Colleen). Thankfully my wife’s not a fan of the Day either, so I lose no points for omitting the clichéd dozen roses or candle-lit dinner.
Do you know who else should not be a fan of Valentine’s Day? Employers. Here are three reasons why.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Lying about medical leave fatal to disability claim
On Saturday my 7-year-old made his first reconciliation. To what could a 7-year-old possibly have to confess? If you list the 10 big ones, lying would probably take the top spot for the 7-year-old set. It’s a life lesson, however, that some never seem to learn.
Case in point? Mattessich v. Weatherfield Township (Ohio Ct. App. 2/8/16) [pdf], in which a depression-suffering police officer was terminated for lying about his medical leave.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, February 8, 2016
A labor union filed an Uber-huge representation petition with the NLRB
Politico New York reported last week that International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1430, petitioned the NLRB to represent 600 New York area Uber drivers. You can read the representation petition here.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, February 5, 2016
WIRTW #399 (the “happy” edition)
So we’re in the car Wednesday night, and I mention to the fam that I’m excited because, today, a new Starbucks is opening downstairs from my office. Without missing a beat, and with complete sincerity, Donovan, my 7-year-old, says, “Oh dad, I’m so happy for you.” I love my kids.
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, February 4, 2016
Can an employer prohibit an employee from job hunting during FMLA leave?
Earlier this week, an employee out on FMLA leave posed the following question to the Evil HR Lady:
While I am out for surgery, I was informed of a new job in another hospital. It looks like no one has applied for the position.… Can I apply for this job while I am on leave? What is the consequence of doing so? Can they take my pay back? On one of the FMLA paperwork, it states no job hunting while on FMLA. Is that true? I do not want to be in some legal battle.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Now is the time to restore balance to Ohio’s employment discrimination law: Endorsing the Employment Law Uniformity Act
For lack of more artful description, Ohio’s employment discrimination law is a mess. It exposes employers to claims for up to six years, renders managers and supervisors personally liable for discrimination, contains no less than four different ways for employees to file age discrimination claims (each with different remedies and filing deadlines), and omits any filing prerequisites with the state civil rights agency.
Monday, State Senator Bill Seitz introduced Senate Bill 268 [pdf], the Employment Law Uniformity Act. It is a business-friendly attempt at comprehensive reform of Ohio’s employment discrimination statute.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, February 2, 2016
The top 10 mistakes employers keep repeating
Today is Groundhog Day, which, because of the eponymous Bill Murray movie, has become synonymous with repeating the same mistakes over, and over, and over…
In that spirit, I thought we’d take a look at the 10 biggest mistakes that employers keep making.
In no particular order:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, February 1, 2016
EEOC proposed significant pay equality changes to EEO-1
If your company has 100 or more employees, you should be very familiar with the federal government’s EEO-1 survey. The EEOC requires that you annually complete and file this form, which requests demographic on your employees, broken down by protected classes and job categories.
Last Friday, the White House made a game changing announcement about the information it proposes you submit in your EEO-1 filings.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, January 29, 2016
WIRTW #398 (the “doorbell” edition)
Someday, Donovan will comb through the archives of this blog and ask, “Dad, you sure wrote a lot about Norah’s music. What about mine?”
So, in the name of equal time and equal pride, I bring you Zombie Fried Chicken, with Donovan on keys (and big sis on drums), doing the White Stripes “My Doorbell.” (Donovan’s song intro, by the way, was totally spontaneous and improvised, and purely adorable).
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, January 28, 2016
Consensus starting to form around reasonable reporting rules for off-the-clock overtime pay
It’s been a few years since the 6th Circuit held, in White v. Baptist Memorial Hosp., that an employer is not liable for unpaid overtime if the employee fails to follow an established, reasonable process for to report uncompensated work time.
Yesterday, following the logic of White, the 5th Circuit reached a similar conclusion:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Guest Post: Social Business and HR, Part 2
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Tuesday, January 26, 2016
DOL doubles down on joint employment under the FMLA
Yesterday, we looked at the DOL’s recent guidance on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Simultaneously with its FLSA guidance, the DOL also published guidance on joint employment under the FMLA, and it’s definitely worth you time.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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