Wednesday, November 1, 2017
VOTE for the ‘Worst Employer of 2017’ — polls are open
The day for which you’ve waited all year has finally arrived.
It’s your opportunity to help pick the Worst Employer of 2017.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Apple employee gaffe illustrates risk posed by YouTube videos in protection of trade secrets
An Apple employee lost his job this week after his daughter, Brooke Amelia Peterson, posted a YouTube video of her dad’s brand new, unreleased iPhone X.
ReCode has the details:
Peterson posted a five-minute video of a September day in Silicon Valley, which mostly included shopping for makeup and clothing. Harmless, and not unlike other YouTube videos posted by teenagers.
But then, in the video, she visits her father on Apple’s campus in Cupertino for what seems like dinner. As they munch on pizzas in the company’s cafeteria, Peterson’s dad hands her his iPhone X to test. That’s when YouTube viewers got about 45 seconds of footage of Peterson scrolling through various screens on the new design and showing off its camera.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, October 30, 2017
Ohio lawmakers consider safe harbor for cybersecurity compliance
If the Equifax data breach hasn’t scared your company into cybersecurity compliance, Ohio lawmakers are considering dangling you a compliance carrot.
Senate Bill 220 [pdf], introduced earlier this month, would provide business a cybersecurity ‘safe harbor’ in exchange for compliance with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (or other similar standard).
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, October 27, 2017
WIRTW #482 (the “a bet is a bet” edition)
It’s been a couple of weeks since baseball’s evil empire, otherwise known as the New York Yankees, knocked my beloved Cleveland Indians out of the playoffs.
Here’s what I read this week.
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Thursday, October 26, 2017
When should HR call its lawyer?
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Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Not all swearing at work is created equal
According to a recent survey, 57% of American employees admit to swearing at work. (To me, that seems low. Also, count me in the “yes” column.)
Where is the line between swearing as harmless workplace banter and swearing as harmful unlawful harassment?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Bill O’Reilly claiming victim status is WHY we have a harassment problem
Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that Bill O’Reilly paid $32 million to settle a claim of sexual harassment brought against him by a former co-worker.
Yesterday, in an interview with the New York Times, O’Reilly let his accusers have it:
It’s horrible what I went through, horrible what my family went through. This is crap. It’s politically and financially motivated. We can prove it with shocking information. We have physical proof that this is bullshit.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, October 23, 2017
The 23rd nominee for the “worst employer of 2017” is … the cake boss
As we wind down the year toward voting to name the first annual “Worst Employer of the Year,” I thought I had all bases covered. Then I read this story on Buzzfeed:
This Teen Says Her Chili’s Manager Sexually Harassed Her, And Her Coworkers Threw A Party To Shame Her
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, October 20, 2017
WIRTW #481 (the “proof of concept” edition)
When a commenter starts his thoughts with “Hey faggot,” you know you have one for the internet-troll hall of fame.
A couple of months ago I wrote a post entitled, When You Discover That You Employ a Nazi. This post generated the above-referenced comment on Workforce.com (which cross-posts my blog daily).
The rest of this winning comment?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, October 19, 2017
When is a break not a break under the FLSA?
The FLSA draws a pretty clear line as to when breaks must be paid, and when they can be unpaid.
If a break 20 minutes or less in duration, it must be paid. Any longer, and an employer can make it an unpaid break.
What if, however, instead of providing employees paid breaks, an employer installs a system of flex time—the employer only pays employees for the time they are logged onto its system, which maximizes employees’ ability to take breaks from work at any time, for any reason, and for any duration.
Does this “flex time” system of unlimited unpaid breaks pass muster under the FLSA?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
No, you do not need a workplace emoji policy
I read a blog yesterday that asked the following question? “Do you need a workplace emoji policy?”
They say yes, I say an unequivocal no.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Weinstein case highlights problem of “ostriching” harassment
What have we learned?
- Weinstein is an (alleged) (do I really need to add this qualifier?) serial harasser, maybe one of the worst in history.
- His misconduct was the worst kept secret in Hollywood, with even Courtney Love discussing it all the way back in 2005.
- The Weinstein Company, and the members of its board of director, are in deep, deep trouble for ignoring Harvey’s (alleged) wandering eyes, hands, etc.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, October 16, 2017
There is no *good* reason to be anti-LGBTQ rights
Last week I presented a webinar entitled, “The Top 10 Employee Handbook Mistakes.”
I discussed, among other policies, missing at-will disclaimers, salary discussion bans, failing to define the FMLA leave-year, inflexible leave of absence policies, and omitted or ineffective harassment policies.
I also discussed anti-discrimination policies that ignore LGBTQ employment rights.
During the LGBTQ section of the webinar, I provided the legal background on the issue (Title VII is silent, some states and municipalities have acted, and the EEOC and federal courts have stepped up to otherwise fill in Title VII’s gap).
I then issued this challenge to the attendees—
“Be on the right side of history.”
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, October 13, 2017
WIRTW #480 (the “another Fake ID” edition)
Indulge me, as this morning I once again take off my employment-law blogger hat, and replace it with my proud dad / music blogger hat.
Fake ID had quite the successful opening weekend of music. They started last Saturday night rocking The Pond Ice Rink’s annual clambake (encore included), and finished Sunday afternoon as the talk of the Hiram House Camp Pumpkin Festival.
It was an absolute joy to watch this band perform (and not just because one of them happens to be mine). These kids rock hard, work harder, and love what they are doing.
As one fan described his “favorite cover band in town” — “Book them now for your holiday party before they get their driver’s licenses!”
Follow these kids on YouTube for more videos from this past weekend, like them on Facebook for information on future gigs, and follow them on Instagram for more videos and other photos.
Here’s what I read this week.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, October 12, 2017
Do you know what to do when an employee dies on the job?
It’s news an employer never wants to deliver.
“I’m sorry, but your spouse (or partner, child, or other family member) had an accident at work and unfortunately passed away.”
But it happens. In fact, according to OSHA it’s happened 357 times already this year.
Indeed, it happened just yesterday, at Cleveland State University. A piece of sheet metal fell and killed a construction worker.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Jemele Hill story underscores employees lack of understanding about personal social media and work
Social media has irreparably torn down the wall that has historically separated one’s work life from one’s personal life.
Earlier this week, ESPN personality Jemele Hill learned this lesson the hard way.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, October 10, 2017
It’s coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE: 12 steps for your employees to become cyber-aware
Do you remember the movie When a Stranger Calls?
The movie opens with a babysitter receiving a telephone call from a man who asks, “Have you checked the children?” She dismisses the call as a practical joke, but as they continue, and become more frequent and threatening, she becomes frightened and calls the police. Ultimately, she receives a return call from the police, telling her that the calls are coming from inside the house.
(Cue ominous music)
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. And, according to one recent study, employee negligence or other error is the cause of 41 percent of all data breaches. Your data breaches are coming from inside your house. The question is what are you going to do about it.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, October 9, 2017
What to do when your Harvey Weinstein harasses your employees
By now you’ve likely heard about the decades of harassment allegations levied against storied Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Over the weekend, his company, the Weinstein Company, fired him.
Will your board have the courage to do the same if your CEO / President / founder engages in the type of misconduct alleged against Harvey Weinstein?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, October 6, 2017
WIRTW #479 (the “pod” edition)
I am recently back on the podcast wagon. For reasons that I never understood, I abandoned the platform as a media source a few years ago. But I’m back with a vengeance.
Here are the five podcasts to which I’ve been most listening lately (along with their official descriptions and my favorite recent episode of each):
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, October 5, 2017
Sometimes a banana is just a banana, and sometimes you're liable for harassment
An employee grabs a co-worker’s penis and pokes another employee with a banana protruding from the zipper of his pants.
Should the employer be liable for sexual harassment?
Well, it depends. An employer’s liability for harassment often hinges on whether the harasser is a “supervisor.”
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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