Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Celebrating a decade of the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Monday, May 8, 2017
This is why it matters who runs the NLRB
Which brings us to 2017.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Friday, May 5, 2017
WIRTW #460 (the “my favorite week of the year” edition)
This week is my favorite week of the year, because five nights from now I’ll be standing front and center at the Beachland Ballroom watching the Old 97’s. Yes, I know I’m a fanboy. And you know what? I don’t care. I’ve come to grips with it. I can’t wait to hear live for the first time most of their latest release, Graveyard Whistling, including this destined to be classic, “Jesus Loves You”.
Come see what all the fuss is about. Tickets are only $20, and, for now are still available, but will sell out before the lights dim Wednesday night. And, if you’re not in Cleveland, please support these guys by checking them out when they come through your town, this spring, summer, or beyond.
Update: Earlier this week, the House passed the Working Families Flexibility Act. Much of the press surrounding this bill frames it as a law that will take away overtime pay from employees. Click here to read why this spin is flat out wrong (hint: an employer cannot force comp time on any employee, and an employee must agree, in writing, to accept comp time in lieu of overtime pay).
Here’s what I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
6th Circuit says you can’t spell “cat’s paw” without F-M-L-A
It’s been six year since the Supreme Court decided, in Staub v. Proctor Hosp., which validated the “cat’s paw” as a valid theory of liability in discrimination cases. The “cat’s paw” seeks to hold an employer liable for the discriminatory animus of an employee who played no role in the decision, but nevertheless exerted some degree of influence over the ultimate decision maker.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
10 key elements of any data security policy to safeguard your company
Yesterday, I told you that small businesses (less than 250 employees) suffered 31 percent of last year’s cyberattacks. What can you do to best protect your business (of any size) to repel an attack? Let me introduce you to the Data Security Policy, an essential component of any employee handbook now, and likely forever.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
If you think your small business isn’t at risk for cybercrime, think again
If you’ve ever spoken or though the words, “We’re too small to worry about a cyberattack,” you’d better think again.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Wait, an employer can’t fire an employee on FMLA leave caught on Facebook on vacation?
Actual firing Facebook photo |
So, what do you do?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Friday, April 28, 2017
WIRTW #459 (the “weeps” edition)
How did I not know this was a thing? Last summer, The Beatles released a remix of my favorite song of theirs, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles’ show, LOVE (an absolute must-do if you find yourself in Vegas). The new arrangement is the final work of legendary Beatles’ produced George Martin before his passing.
(For what’s it’s worth, I prefer what many consider the definitive version of this song—from George Harrison’s 2004 induction into the Rock Hall—performed with zero Beatles, one spawn of Beatles, two Traveling Wilburys, and one beautiful and blistering Prince guitar solo—The New York Times has a wonderful account of that performance here).
Here’s what I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
The top 6 employee handbook mistakes
Yesterday, I had a pleasure of presenting a webinar for The Builder’s Exchange: The Top 6 Employee Handbook Mistakes. For your viewing pleasure and educational enlightenment, I’ve embedded it below.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Congrats to Philip Miscimarra on his appointment as NLRB Chair
I’m on record as calling Philip Miscimarra “mad as hell,” referring to his scathing dissents in recent NLRB protected concerted activity cases. I also have it on good authority that while he and I agree that the NLRB has gone off the proverbial reservation in these cases, he is not, in fact, mad as hell.
Be that as it may, he has every reason today to be as happy as he can be.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
2nd Circuit holds that it’s perfectly okay for an employee to curse out his boss on Facebook (NSFW)
It’s been two years since the NLRB determined that section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protected an employee’s profanity laced Facebook rant simply because he ended it with a pro union message. I held out hope that the court of appeals would see the folly in the decision and send a clear message to employees and employers that such misconduct remains a terminable offense. NLRB v. Pier Sixty (2nd Cir. 4/21/17) [pdf] dashed that hope.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Monday, April 24, 2017
National origin discrimination laws don’t matter in Trump’s America
Last week, President Trump signed his “Buy American, Hire American“ Executive Order. The EO encourages American businesses to buy American-made products and hire American workers.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Friday, April 21, 2017
WIRTW #458 (the “update” edition)
- Fox News (finally) fired Bill O’Reilly.
- Earnest Angley closed his buffet, which had for years illegally used the services of unpaid volunteers and child labor. Looks like he finally found something he could not save.
Here’s what else I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Working Families Flexibility Act seeks to legalize comp time in lieu of overtime
If you are a private employer, it is 100 percent illegal for you to provide employees comp time in lieu of overtime for hours worked by non-exempt employees over 40 in a work week. If a non-exempt employee works overtime, you must pay them overtime, and you violate the FLSA if you provide comp time in its place.
The Working Families Flexibility Act, introduced earlier this year in Congress, seeks to change this rule.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
6th Circuit tees up decision on LGBT discrimination coverage under Title VII
The 6th Circuit is currently considering whether Title VII’s definition of “sex discrimination”.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
The bar for what qualifies as unlawful harassment in the 4th Circuit is pretty damn high
How high is the bar for what qualifies as unlawful sexual harassment in the 4th Circuit? Pretty damn high, if you ask me. Consider that in Wilson v. Gaston County [pdf], the Court concluded that the following misconduct did not entitle the plaintiff to a jury trial on her sexual harassment claim:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Monday, April 17, 2017
2nd Circuit provides plan for employers to win misclassification cases
In Saleem v. Corporate Transportation Group (2nd Cir. 4/12/17) [pdf], the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether a company properly classified a group of black-car taxi drivers as independent contractors, or whether it should have classified them as employees. In ruling for the company, the court gifted employers a game plan to use when classifying workers to minimize risk in making the key determination of whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Friday, April 14, 2017
WIRTW #457 (the “sad clown” edition)
You say you want to see a sad clown sing a mashup of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” to the tune of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”? I’ve got you covered. Ladies and gentlemen, Puddles Pity Party.
Here’s what I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
6th Circuit avoids key legal issue, but still absolves union of harassment liability
Samuel Gompers, founder of the AFL, wrote that “[w]herever trade unions are most firmly organized, there are the rights of the people most respected.” But Gompers wasn’t quite right if Tanganeka Phillips’s claims are true; she alleges that one of the largest unions in North America discriminated against her on the basis of race.
When a judicial opinion starts out with a quote such as this, it’s usually not a good sign for the defendant, unless you happen to be the United Auto Workers, the defendant in Phillips v. UAW Int’l (6th Cir. 4/12/17) [pdf], which walked away from some pretty bad allegations of racial harassment.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Communicating with employees is key when a PR crisis strikes
Lots has been said about how United Airlines mishandled violently dragging a passenger from an overbooked flight. And none of it is good. Yet, make no mistake, how United CEO Oscar Munoz communicated with his company’s employees immediately following the incident did not do anything to make it any better.
United CEO email to employees obtained by ABC's @Shahriar44R: "there are lessons we can learn from this experience" pic.twitter.com/N1TbohuRc3— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) April 10, 2017
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.