Flash forward thirty years. Buzz Lightyear has played a huge role in my family. He’s my 5-year-old son’s hero. He helped get Donovan through some tough medical issues in his young life. To Donovan, Buzz is very real … or was very real until his Kindergarten teacher thought it was a good idea to share with the class that the characters at Disney World aren’t real, but just people wearing costumes.
I was stunned. Where the hell does anyone get the right to ruin my kid’s dream. If he wants to think Buzz Lightyear is as real as President Obama, who am I to say otherwise. What’s the harm in a little boy having a dream? When did kids stop having the right to be kids?
After talking to the teacher, I learned that it’s part of the “common core curriculum” to discuss the difference between real and imaginary, and some of the kids asked about Disney as an example. Could she have handled it differently? Absolutely. Should have softened the blow or deflected the question so that the kids who still want to believe in the Disney magic can do so? Yup. Regardless, I remain bummed that part of my child’s childhood has been taken away.
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
Discrimination
- Smoking: Many States Try Snuffing Out Employment Bias Against US Smokers — from Employment Intelligence
- Telling An Employee They Need to Lose Weight is NOT Discrimination — from TLNT
- The Spy Who Loved Me? IKEA and Surveillance Laws — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
- Ownership of Business-Related Social Media Accounts — from Socially Aware Blog
- Does BYOD = Bring Your Own Dangers? — from Corporate Counsel
- Employee Owned Tablets and Technology Devices: Managing the Risks and Rewards Starts with BYOD Policy — from Jason Shinn’s Michigan Employment Law Advisor
- Non-competes in the world of social media: LinkedIn notifications are not “solicitation” — from Warren & Associates Blog
- The Risk of Fishing for Support in an Employee Discipline Matter — from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
- Sometimes you have to fire your “star.” Here’s why. — from Robin Shea’s Employment and Labor Insider
- Next Year’s Headache for Employers — from Jottings By An Employer’s Lawyer
- What A Christmas Party Can Reveal About Company Culture — from Compensation Café
- Crowdsourcing Illustrative Examples of “At-Will Employment” — from Workplace Prof Blog
- Can My Employer Trash Me In References? 6 things you need to know about job references — from Donna Ballman’s Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home
- Never Say Goodbye to a Great Employee — from Harvard Business Review
- Wage and Hour Compliance: Look Out, Here Comes 2014! — from Workplace Insights
- Supreme Court May Hear FLSA Case Finding Owner Personally Liable For FLSA Violations — from Overtime Lawyer Blog
- To Moot Or Not To Moot—The First FLSA Case In Texas To Grapple With The Genesis Healthcare Ruling — from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
- Wage & Hour Division Obtains Nearly $250 Million in Back Wages — from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
- Can Employees Sue Over 401(k) Losses? Supreme Court to Decide — from WSJ Law Blog
- SCOTUS on ERISA Plan Limitations Provisions — from Phil Miles’ Lawffice Space
- Two Ohio Cases Highlight That When It Comes to the FMLA, Employers Need to Set Their Radars to Detect Potential Interference Claims — from Employer Law Report
- NLRB’s New Top Attorney Threatens to Overturn Employer-Friendly E-Mail Decision — from The Blue Ink
- Department of Labor’s Persuader Rule Postponed to March 2014 — from Labor Relations Today
- Employers Beware: 2014 NLRB is Unrestrained and Ready for Activism — from Employment Law Watch
- What is “Just Cause” Termination for Unionized Employees? — from Minnesota Employer