Recently, Reddit listed the nine menu items that fast food workers say you should never eat at one of their restaurants. I think number 10 should be anything with lettuce on it from a Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Burger King. Earlier this week, the franchise owner fired three employees who believed they had anonymously posted the following photo of one of them using bins of lettuce as shoes:
Here’s the full story, as reported by WKYC:
The lesson for employers and employees? Online photos are not really anonymous. They almost always contain something called “metadata,” which tells when and where the photo was taken. In this instance, the metadata enabled the franchise to track down, and fire, the offending employee. In fact, according to Mashable, it took all of 20 minutes for someone to decipher the metadata, post the address of the store, contact the news, and inform Burger King’s corporate website.
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
Discrimination
- Is obesity a disability under the new ADA? Probably. — from Robin Shea’s Employment and Labor Insider
- Court Ruling Highlights Effect of Obesity on Employers — from Thompson’s HR Compliance Expert
- 7 ways to avoid trouble with the EEOC — from Inside Counsel
- What is Discrimination? — from ERC Insights Blog
- Solving the Smelly Problem of Fragrance-Induced Disabilities — from Washington Workplace Law
- Cocktail Waitresses, Discrimination, and the Entertainer Exemption — from Stephanie Thomas’s The Proactive Employer Blog
- How Not To Retaliate — from Troutman Sanders HR Law Matters
- Marriage and the Workplace - Not Always a Perfect Match — from Jason Shinn’s Michigan Employment Law Advisor
- Sleeping at Work Probably Won't Help Plaintiff's Discrimination Claim — from Phil Miles’s Lawffice Space
Social Media & Workplace Technology
- Discovery of Plaintiff's Social-Networking Profile — from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
- Facebook Posts From An Employee’s Termination Meeting? Plan for It — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
- Can liking a Facebook status protect an employee from termination? — from Employment Law Bits
- Social Media Madness in the Modern Workplace — from i-Sight Investigation Software Blog
- The Cost of Social Media Distractions in the Workplace — from Minnesota Labor & Employment Law Blog
- Personal vs. Professional on the Job: Where Do We Draw the Line? — from TLNT
- Ten Apps Topping Enterprise Blacklists — from Social Media Strategies Summit Blog
- Workplace “Bring Your Own Device” Policies Save Money Now, But May Risk Future Litigation — from ABA Journal Daily News
- BYOD Party! — from The Personnel Files
HR & Employee Relations
- Why Women Still Can’t Have It All — from The Atlantic
- New Yahoo CEO Is Six Months Pregnant [Insert Gasp] — from Fistful of Talent
- Doesn’t Marissa Mayer have a Non-Compete??? — from Trade Secrets & Non-Compete Blog
- Why companies must stop office bullying — from Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
- Lifeguard fired for saving a drowning swimmer? Company policy gone bad… — from Warren & Associates Blog
Wage & Hour
- Unpaid Internships May Prove to be Meal Ticket After All… — from Wage & Hour Defense Blog
- Hearst Must Face Class Action by Interns — from Joe’s HR and Benefits Blog
- Using “Rolling” Method to Calculate FMLA Leave Almost Always the Best Choice for Employers — from Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights
- To minimize FMLA lawsuits, hire slow and fire fast (before the FMLA request) — from Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
- Visit to doctor for prescription refill is not “treatment” for purposes of FMLA — from Employment Law Matters
Labor Relations
- Reinventing Unions — from Workplace Prof Blog
- The NLRB Continues to Push the Envelope — from Labor & Employment Law Perspectives
- Top Six Illegal Policies In Your Employee Handbook — from Donna Ballman’s Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home