Harkening back to those childhood days, I always wanted to see The Price is Right live. I fulfilled that dream during the spring break of my 1st year of law school. The experience was surreal. We sat next to a guy wearing a pink, bespangled, “I ♥ Bob Barker” sweatshirt. It was his 250th taping, and he knew the names of all of Bob Barker’s cats and dogs (restraining order not included). We also saw one of the curtains break down as they were about to reveal the prize for one of the pricing games, followed by Bob Barker telling the confused contestant, “When we start rolling tape, I will have already said, ‘And you can win this!’ The first thing the camera will see is your reaction. So, whatever piece of s**t is behind that curtain, you better react like it is the best thing you’ve ever seen.”
I tell this story because earlier this week, The Huffington Post reported that a North Carolina postal worker pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud. The employee had lied about her inability to stand, sit, kneel, squat, climb, bend, reach, grasp, or lift. The smoking gun? An appearance on TPIR on which she spun the big wheel, twice.
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
Discrimination
- Is Sexual Harassment Permissible If It Is Directed At Both Male and Female Employees? — from Minnesota Employer
- Sexually Harassing Comments - Is There Any Case Where A Single Usage Created A Hostile Work Environment? — from Employment Discrimination Report
- Employee alleges he got the “Office Space,” claims age discrimination — from Eric Meyer’s Employer Handbook Blog
- EEOC guidance may impact hiring practices of regulated industries — from EmployerLINC
- Case of fired Catholic schoolteacher likely isn’t over — from Crain’s Cleveland Business Work Force Blog
- “Fired for being gay” article in NY Times — from Warren & Associates Blog
- Unpaid Worker Not “Employee” Under Title VII, 5th Circuit Decides — from Joe’s HR and Benefits Blog
- We Need the Young to Help Eliminate Age Discrimination in the Workplace — from TLNT
- Are these medical questions illegal, or not? Test your knowledge! — from Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
Social Media & Workplace Technology
- Can You Control Your Employees’ LinkedIn Profiles? — from Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
- Think Before You Tweet: It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Fired — from PayScale
- Newsbreak: What You Post on Facebook Can Be Used Against You — from Lawyers.com
- Social Media Password Protection and Privacy — The Patchwork of State Laws and How It Affects Employers — from Workplace Privacy Counsel
- Undeliverable: E-mail blocks retaliation claim — from Technology for HR
HR & Employee Relations
- The Biggest Interview Mistakes HR Experts See — from Lifehacker
- Secrets of Super Negotiators – Don’t Use Round Numbers — from Negotiation Law Blog
- Backing a new employee in restrictive covenant proceedings can be costly — from Employment Law Worldview
- What to Do When an Employee Cries at Work — from Harvard Business Review
- Employers in the Crossfire — from Jonathan Segal
- Managing millennials: Gen Y workforce seeks information, feedback, work/life balance — from Knoxville News Sentinel
- What Will Your Workplace Look Like in 2023? — from Wired’s Innovation Insights
- The Impact of Breadwinner Moms on HR — from Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
- Captain America Comes to NEO: 5 Ways to Help Employees Battle the Traffic — from ERC Insights Blog
- Preparing to Conduct HR Investigation Interviews — from i-Sight Investigation Software Blog
Wage & Hour
- How cutting employee hours due to health reform may infringe federal law — from Employee Benefit News
- Massachusetts Federal Court Provides Important Reminders for Challenging FLSA Collective Actions — from Wage & Hour Counsel
- FLSA Collective Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Okay’d — from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
- Wage & Hour Surprises and Risks — from Work Place Coach Blog News
- Update: Sears v. Butler — from Walter Olson’s Overlawyered
- Your Summer Intern Is Here. Now What? — from Harvard Business Review
- Challenges (and Solutions) to Unlimited Vacation Policy — from Blogging4Jobs
Labor Relations
- Here’s Your Annual Post On Everything That’s Wrong With Unions — from The HR Capitalist, Kris Dunn
- NLRB and Social Media — from Wyatt Employment Law Report