WIRTW #173 (the bird brain edition)

We know spring is in the air in the southwestern suburbs of Cleveland because the robins are out in full flight. One of these robins must have a nest somewhere outside my family room, because it keeps attacking the window (see right, for proof). It boggles my mind that something would engage in the same fruitless (and painful) endeavor for weeks on end. And yet, should it? We’ve all dealt with employees who repeat the same deficiencies. We try to rehabilitate them via performance reviews, improvement plans, and write-ups, often in vain. Are we any different than the bird?

Here’s the rest of what I read this week:

Discrimination

• When an anti-harassment policy won’t defeat a bias claim... – from Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• Will My Atheism Hurt My Career? – from Evil HR Lady, by Suzanne Lucas
• Equal Pay Day, The Paycheck Fairness Act, and The Easter Bunny – from Stephanie Thomas’s The Proactive Employer Blog
• STFU “We Want Boobies” (It's the Employer’s Response that Counts) – from Philip Miles’s Lawffice Space
• From the Docket: Mr. Potato Head – from Lowering the Bar
• New Jersey Court Asked to Decide What Constitutes a “Man” in Transgender Discrimination Suit – from Randy Enochs’s Wisconsin Employment & Labor Law Blog
• Employers: beware accidental discrimination – from Employment Law Bits
• A rigid return-to-work policy could cause you ADA legal woes – from HR Cafe
• The New ADA Test: Does It Walk Like A Duck – from Employment Law Worldview
• Court of Appeal Says No Accommodation for Violent Threats – from What's New in Employment Law?
• A Testy Bloomberg Emerges in Discrimination Case – from The New York Times
• Seventh Circuit Affirms Denial of Certification in Equal Pay Act/Title VII Gender Case – from Employment Class Action Blog
• Kobe Shows his True Color – from Rob Schwartz’s Fairness Matters
• Wal-Mart Could Face Major Unanticipated Problems in Historic Class Action – from Richard Levick’s The Communicators Blog (at Forbes.com)

Wage & Hour

• Class action demands pay for Huffington Post bloggers – from Walter Olson’s Overlawyered
• Working through lunch may create overtime issues for employers – from The Employer Handbook Blog
• What To Do About “Service Writers” And Similar Employees? – from Wage and Hour Laws Blog
• US DOL Issues Fluctuating Work Week Regulations: Agency Sticks To What It Knows – from Wage & Hour - Development & Highlights
• DOL Seeks To Undermine Fluctuating-Workweek Plans – from Wage and Hour Laws Blog
• DOL Wage-and-Hour Division Issues New Regulations – from Employer Law Report
• Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act is Reintroduced – from Washington D.C. Employment Law Update

Social Media & Workplace Technology

• Using Social Networking Sites to Defend Your Company in Employment Law Cases – from Daniel Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Social Media Discovery Made Easy – from Rob Radcliff’s Smooth Transitions
• Screening Job Candidates With Facebook: Part 1 and Part 2 – from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
• Oh, the humanity! Stupidity rules in social media and employment – from Employment and Labor Insider
• NLRB Set to Issue Complaint Arising Out of Employee Twitter Comment – from Seth Borden’s Labor Relations Today
• NLRB Protecting Negative Online Comments About Employer – from employeescreenIQ Blog
• A Union Calls a Twitter Strike: Will Anyone Notice (or Care)? – from LaborUnionReport
• In the name of productivity and consistency, employers should permit employee Internet access at work – from Work Matters
• Don't Take Your Smartphone to the Bathroom from bnet

HR & Employee Relations

• Lessons from my Daughter’s Laptop – from Harvard Business Review
• A Short Checklist to Avoid a Disgruntled Former Employee Costing Your Company $200,000 – from Michigan Employment Law Advisor
• Onboarding 101, or What NOT to Do When a New Employee Starts Work – from TLNT

Labor Relations

• If I Were Starting A Union, Here's What I’d Do... – from The HR Capitalist, by Kris Dunn
• Is the Board Ready to Move on Relocation Decisions? – from Labor Relations Update
• Board: Unenforced Handbook Rules Violate NLRA Despite Disclaimer – from Labor Relations Counsel

Litigation

• Lessons for Employers in the Rejection of “The Harvard Twins’” Efforts to Reopen the Settlement with Facebook – from Iowa Employer Law Blog
• Winklevoss-Proof Your Mediated Settlement Agreements – from Settle It Now Negotiation Blog
• Settling Non-Compete Cases: Postponing Battle for Another Day? – from Trade Secrets & Non-Compete Blog
• Employee lawsuits a bigger part of modern American workplace – from Alison Grant at cleveland.com
• Court Considers Hypotheticals In Determining Overbreadth of CVS Non-Compete Agreement – from Legal Developments In Non-Competition Agreements

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