If your company has a sudden (and very public) epiphany that letting employees expense meals from strip clubs is a bad idea, you’ve already lost. Likewise, if you think that the women at your company should be invited to events based upon their perceived physical attractiveness, you’ve already lost, too. https://deadspin.com/report-under-armour-ends-longstanding-practice-of-ex-1830238082
Back three years ago, I warned how you could accidentally have the National Labor Relations Board come a’knockin’ on your door even if your workplace is not unionized. Now that Obama is gone and Trump is in, perhaps you were thinking that this is no longer a concern. If you were thinking that, you’d beContinue reading Yes, Even the Trump NLRB…
Just as pleading that the dog ate your homework, you won’t get far with a judge by pleading that you never received an important legal notice because it must have gone to the spam folder. In Emerald Coast Utilities v. Bear Marcus Pointe, the utility ended up having to pay BMP’s legal fees not becauseContinue reading The Spam Filter Dog Ate Your E-Mail Notice
No, you cannot force your employees to only speak in English. Sure, if they need to talk to customers, or if they need to convey important safety-related information between each other, you can absolutely require that those discussions be conducted in English. But while passing time in the break room? No, you cannot force employeesContinue reading Say What?
If your company has job postings that refer to needing to “be able to lift fifty pounds,” keep reading. Michigan-based Gordon Foods has been cited for a second time for having illegal “must be able to lift” requirements that over-stated what kind of physical strength was needed for doing the job. And which, the EEOCContinue reading Those Who Can’t, Test
Go figure… I post on Monday that the US-DOL hadn’t yet issued the overtime rule updates, and bam! out pops the rule on Tuesday. The magic threshold is $47,476 per year, and that amount automatically indexes once every three years. The Dept of Labor blithely posits that If you need more than a simplistic memeContinue reading And the magic number is $47,476 per year
The US Dept of Labor’s long-anticipated changes to the overtime pay threshold still haven’t come out (could be anywhere from $47-50k, up from the current $23k). But, either way, you probably have a sizeable handful of currently salaried employees who will go back to be handled as hourly paid. Which can seem like a kickContinue reading From Salaried, back to Hourly? New US-DOL Overtime rules
My daughter was indulging a t.v. marathon for the show “Supernatural”. One particular episode involved some teens reciting Latin incantations and accidentally inviting demons to their basement. What does this have to do with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)? Plenty. Just because you don’t currently have a unionized workplace, nor do you ever expect to, doesn’t meanContinue reading Supernatural and the NLRB
Those of you who handle FMLA matters know that it can be a paper-intensive undertaking. You’ve probably grown accustomed to sending Notices of Eligibility, medical certification, and Designation Notices by US postal mail. Unfortunately, not every federal district or appellate court thinks that’s good enough. In Lupyan v. Corinthian Colleges, the appellate court chided that “in this ageContinue reading Snail Mail or Fail Mail? FMLA Notices
