The federal court that recently announced its intent to dismiss the EEOC v. CVS severance agreement case has finally issued its written opinion … and the court did not reach the key issue in the case. Instead, the court dismissed the EEOC’s lawsuit based solely on its failure to conciliate with CVS prior to filing suit. So, it’s back to the drawing board for employers hoping for some concrete guidance on the legality of myriad garden-variety severance agreement provisions, which may come from a similar lawsuit the EEOC is pursuing in Colorado. You can more on the background of this story here and here.
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
Discrimination
- An employer should never ask about disability or religion. Except when it should. —Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
- You’re More Biased Than You Think — via Fast Company
- Weight Discrimination Is Surprisingly Rare, Study Finds — via Discovery
- Age Discrimination In Finland – Suffered Most By Those … Under 30? — via Employment Discrimination Report
- EEOC and wellness programs: Looking for “just right.” — via Michigan Employment Law Connection
- Remember that a duty to accommodate may exist after childbirth — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
- The EEOC’s Litigation Scorecard For FY2014 – What Does It Mean For Employers — via EEOC Year-End Countdown
- Should ADA protections apply to pedophiles? — via ABA Journal Daily News
Social Media & Workplace Technology
- Employees Can Break Data Privacy Rules Too — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
- Even If You Don't Use Social Networks, They Still Know Stuff About You — via Lifehacker
- Union access to employer’s e-mail systems: Are times a-changin’? — via Technology for HR
- Workplace Trends: The Office Telemedicine Kiosk — via Workplace Diva
HR & Employee Relations
- Is your workforce knowledgeable about Ebola … and should it be? — via Employment Law Matters
- When “The End” Is Not “The End”: Asserting Trade Secret Claims After The Execution of a Mutual Release — via Trading Secrets
- Breaking Bad: Disciplining employees for off-duty conduct — via EntertainHR
- Further Thoughts on the “CEO Dads”: Schireson and El-Erian — via Fathers, Work and Family
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month and HR — via Fistful of Talent
- What To Do When You Don't Have a Policy in Place — via ERC Insights Blog
- Bullying in the Workplace: New Laws or Stronger Employer Policies? — via Smart HR Manager
Wage & Hour
- The Secret Life of Equity Compensation at IPO — via Compensation Café
- Ignoring the FLSA: Another case of Stupid HR — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
Labor Relations
- NLRB General Counsel and Company Seek Detailed Financial Accounting in Beck Disclosure, NLRB Members Say No — via Matt Austin Labor Law
- NLRB Finds FedEx Drivers to be Employees–Not Independent Contractors — via Wyatt Employment Law Report
- NLRB Refines Its Test for Independent Contractor Status — via Labor Relations Update
- Cursing, fighting, and screaming could be protected under the NLRA — via HR Hero Line