WIRTW #532 (the “❤️ the holidays” edition)

On December 25, I will turn 18 in Christmas years. My wife and I starting dating in October 2001, and we celebrated our first Christmas together two months later. I LOVE Christmas. I joke with my wife that I married her for Christmas. I love the lights, the tree, the family togetherness, the snow, and the overall peaceful spirit of the holiday.

And the music. I love Christmas music. Which is why this year, I'm thrilled that I get to combine my favorite holiday with my favorite band.

Today, Old 97's released "Love the Holidays," a collection of twangy Christmas tunes to fill your ears and your soul with yuletide joy.

Take a listen to the exquisitely beautiful "Snow Angels," a song that seeks togetherness in these troubled times, and calls for us to find that which binds us instead of that which us divides us.

Look to your left, look to your right
Everyone of us is a beam of light.
Together, we’re strong. There’s no need to fight.
Everyone of us is a beam of light.

I also dare you not to imagine snow falling outside you window as you listen to the imagery this tune invokes.




The blog is off next week, as I'll be home getting ready for, and then celebrating, my other favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. But, come back the week after when I'll announce the finalists for the Worst Employer of 2018 (have you voted yet?), and take us through the year's home stretch.

Here's what I read this week:

Do you know? Pre-employment medical examinations

A local mayor has gotten himself in some hot water for his selective use of pre-employment medical examinations for hirees. How selective? According to WKYC, one woman claims that the mayor required her and other women, but not men, to be examined by his personal doctor. For his part, the mayor denies the allegations as an act of a "fertile imagination," and claims that he sends all city workers, male and female, to the same doctor for pre-employment exams.

Why would her allegations rise to the level of unlawful activity?

What can you learn from the law firm partner suspended for watching porn at work?

According to The American Lawyer (sub. req.), Hogan Lovells has suspended one of its partners in its London office for watching porn at work. How did it catch the offense?

In IT employee read his internet logs? No.

He forgot to close his browser when he went to the loo and his assistant walked into his office? No.

He visited an unsafe site that spammed his entire office with malware? No.

Do you know? English-only workplace policies

White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant too!

– White Stripes, Icky Thump (2007).

Estefany Martinez-Gonzalez and Imelda Lucio Lopez, both crew members at a McDonald's restaurant, and both Hispanic, claimed that their employer discriminated against them by requiring them to speak English at work (as opposed to their native Spanish).

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WIRTW #531 (the “Mexico” edition)

Last night, I got to watch my daughter hit a home run, on stage at The Beachland Tavern, singing "Mexico" with decker. (You can read the backstory of how this all came together here.)


Huge thanks to Brandon Decker, for reaching out and offering to share his stage with Norah.

Here's what I read this week:

A resignation in lieu of termination is (more or less) still a termination

"At your request, I am submitting my resignation."

So wrote now-former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in his resignation letter to President Trump.

Yet, no one reasonably believes that Sessions resigned. "At your request, I am submitting my resignation" is a termination, period.

Clients ask me all the time, about an at-risk termination. "Jon, what if we just have him resign? He can't sue us for discrimination, then, right?"

Job applicant told, "Your sexuality may be an issue with the atmosphere of the office environment."

I found the following story posted to the legaladvice subreddit. It's titled, "Turned down for a job, asked what the issues were. Told 'your sexuality may be an issue with the atmosphere of the office environment'."

Sexual harassment prevention 101: NO STRIP CLUBS

Last month, the EEOC held a public meeting on preventing workplace harassment. Entitled, Revamping Workplace Culture to Prevent Harassment, it's the agency's second meeting since forming its Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace, and its first in the #MeToo era.

The EEOC discussed the need for employers to take a holistic approach to change workplace culture to prevent harassment.

Somehow, the EEOC missed "No strip clubs for employees" as one of its anti-harassment talking points.

Managing Election Day at work

As tomorrow is Election Day, I thought I'd share a few tips for employers to keep in mind.

When salary is a proxy for age discrimination

Jim Boylan, recently fired as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against his former employer. According his lawsuit [pdf], then-head coach Ty Lue told him that team owner Dan Gilbert "wants to go younger" in his position and "find somebody who's a grinder and younger."

On its face, those statements certainly seem like direct evidence of age discrimination.

But are they?

WIRTW #530 (the “trick-or-treat” edition)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, correct?

View this post on Instagram

It’s so embarrassing when someone shows up wearing the exact same costume. #sorcle #twinning

A post shared by Jon Hyman (@jonhyman) on Oct 28, 2018 at 2:27pm PDT

Here's what I read this week:

VOTE for the ‘Worst Employer of 2018’ — polls are open

All year long, I've been sharing examples of the worst employers in America. My goal? Compile them at the end of the year and then turn it over to you, my readers, to pick the worst of the worst.

Today is your opportunity to help pick the Worst Employer of 2018.

I've narrowed my list down to my choice for the top 15 naughty employers.

Voting will take place over two rounds, a preliminary round and a final round.

In the preliminary round — which runs from today until Nov. 21 at 11 pm — you will be able to vote for up to 4 choices. (For ease of reference, I've summarized each nominee, as well has hyperlinked back to the original nominating post.)

I will then tally the votes, and, in early December, I'll be back with the finalists, to offer everyone the chance to vote one last time to name The Worst Employer of 2018.

Vote, share this post with your friends, colleagues, and social networks, and, most importantly, learn something from the mistakes of these 15 very worthy nominees.


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When you employ a Satanist #HappyHalloween

Rosemary's Baby, the classic 1968 horror film, tells the story of a pregnant woman who (spoiler alert: correctly) assumes that a satanic cult wants her baby. What does Rosemary's Baby have to do with employment law?

In honor of Halloween, I bring you the story of Irving Cortez-Hernandez, a "Catholic-Satanist" who prayed to the Devil for his pregnant co-worker to miscarry, and as a result lost both his job and his religious discrimination lawsuit.

Abortion discrimination = pregnancy discrimination

Is there a more controversial topic than abortion? As controversial and divisive as it might be, the law is pretty clear that an employer cannot fire an employee for having one.

Anti-Semitism at work

The devastating events of this past weekend served as a sobering reminder that anti-Semitism not only still exists, but it's thriving.

The reality is that anti-Semitism never went away. It has always been there, bubbling under the surface. The current climate in our country, however, has given it permission to boil over.

WIRTW #529 (the “new music Friday” edition)

From time-to-time I like to use this Friday real estate to share new music I'm listening to. Today's  new music also has a pretty cool origin story.

My wife and I vacationed in Sedona, Arizona, in July. And, as most Sedona tourists do, we took a jeep tour through the red rocks. Our tour guide was Brandon Decker. Over the course of our two hour tour we chatted, not just about Sedona, its history, and its mysticism, but also about our families, jobs, and lives outside of the jeep. 

We learned that when he's not driving tour jeeps, Brandon Decker is a professional musician. And not only a professional musician, but a professional musician with a new album about to drop and a national tour about to begin. We did some digging of our own afterwards. He's very accomplished in the Southwest, with seven albums and the title of 2011's Arizona Songwriter of the Year.

We told him about the musician in our family, too. Which led to an invitation for Norah to join him on stage when he stops in Cleveland on November 8.

So check out decker., and his unique brand of psychedelic Americana. I think you'll enjoy it.

Here's what I read this week:

From the archives: The Employer Bill of Rights

I recently came across an interesting blog, entitled, 10 Workplace Rights You Think You Have — But Still Don't. Written by plaintiff-side employment lawyer Donna Ballman, it suggests that employees have far fewer workplace protections than they might think, and rights like wrongful termination, free speech, and workplace privacy simply do not exist.

That post got me thinking about a post I wrote 7 years ago — The Employer Bill of Rights.

How many n-bombs does it take to create a hostile work environment?

Smelter v. Southern Home Care Services (11th Cir. 9/24/18) answers the question, "How many n-bombs does it take to create an unlawful hostile work environment?"

So as not to bury the lede, the answer is one.

Why the federal government's culture war against LGBTQ rights might not matter

You would do well to remember just how fluid is gender

"Second Wave Goodbye," War on Women

According to the New York Times, the Trump administration is poised to wage war on transgender rights.

The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth….