Thursday, June 27, 2019
Does an employer have a duty to protect the personal information of its employees? (Part 3)
Employees trust their employers with a whole bunch of personal information. Social security numbers, medical documents, insurance records, birth dates, criminal records, credit reports, family information, etc. And it’s not like employees have a choice over whether to disclose and entrust this information to their employer. These documents are all necessary if employees want to get hired, get paid, and obtain health insurance and other benefits. Thus, an employer’s personnel records are a treasure trove of PII (personally identifiable information — any data that could potentially identify a specific individual, which can be used to distinguish one person from another and de-anonymizing otherwise anonymous data).
For this reason, cyber-criminals target myriad businesses in an attempt to steal (and then sell on the dark web) this data.
If a company is hacked, and employees’ PII or other data is stolen, is their employer liable to its employees for any damages caused by the data breach?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Facebook video sinks employee’s FMLA claim
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Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Employers are making new dog ownership a little less ruff by offering “pawternity” leave
In three days, my family grows by one. We’re adding a puppy.
My wife and kids have been clamoring for a new dog for a year. Loula (our current dog) is seven years old, and they don’t want to be in a position of not having a dog in our family. Plus, we don’t want to wait until Loula’s too old to tolerate the energy of a new puppy.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, June 24, 2019
The Customer isn’t always right: The Museum of Sex(ual harassment)
Just because an employee works at The Museum of Sex does not mean that she wants be sexually harassed. Or least that’s what Katherine McMahon alleges in her lawsuit against her former employer.
The New York Post offers the salacious details:
“Patrons and co-workers of the Museum grope its employees, use utterly inappropriate sexual language, and inquire into employees’ private sex lives,” the suit alleges.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, June 21, 2019
WIRTW #557 (the “infinity and beyond” edition)
Toy Story has played a huge party in my life. Donovan is a Toy Story fanatic. He’s seen every movie hundreds of times. He has what seems like every toy and every stuffy. Until the age of 6, every article of clothing he owned had a Toy Story character on it somewhere. Buzz and Woody (but especially Buzz) got him (and, by extension, us) through some really tough times when Donovan was a toddler. How could we do anything other than see Toy Story 4 on opening night.
My four word, spoiler-free review: Go now! (Bring tissues.)
My slightly longer, still spoiler-free review: Lots and lots of tissues.
My even longer, yet still spoiler-free review: Nostalgia has a very strong pull. It’s apt that much of this movie takes place in an antique shop, a place that’s all about nostalgia. Toy Story is extraordinarily nostalgic for my family, and if this is end of the road for the series, I can’t imagine a better ending.
Here’s what I read this week:
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, June 20, 2019
Is blockchain technology the next frontier in combating sexual harassment?
According to Employee Benefit News, Vault Platform has developed an app that uses blockchain technology to allow employees to document and report workplace sexual harassment on their smartphones.
“Interesting,” you say,” but what’s blockchain technology?”
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, June 19, 2019
The 12th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the disguised doctor
Norma Melgoza, a long-time employee of Rush University Medical Center, is suing her employer for sex discrimination and equal-pay violations stemming from a denied application for a promotion.
In support of her claim of glass ceiling gender bias, Melgoza points to certain misconduct of the interviewing physician. I’ll let the district court explain.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, June 18, 2019
What’s a hostile work environment? You’ll know it when you see it.
“I know it when I see it.” These are the famous words of Justice Potter Stewart defining legal obscenity in his concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964).
I feel the same way about a hostile work environment. For a hostile work environment to be actionable, it must (among other factors) be objectivity hostile. What does this mean? It’s hard to define, but I know it when I see it.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, June 17, 2019
How long of a leash must you give an employee before firing?
When a client calls me to ask for advice about firing an employee, the first question I always ask is, “What does the employee’s file look like?” I want to know if there exists a documented history of performance issues to justify the termination, and whether said issues are known and understood by the employee.
I ask these questions for two reasons:
- Can the employer objectively prove the misconduct to a judge or jury? Fact-finders want to see documentation, and if it’s lacking, they are more likely to believe that the misconduct was not bad enough to warrant documentation, or worse, that it did not occur. In either case, a judge or jury reaching this conclusion is bad news for an employer defending the termination in a lawsuit.
- Surprises cause bad feelings, which lead to lawsuits. If an employee has notice of the reasons causing the discharge, the employee is much less likely to sue. Sandbagged employees become angry ex-employees. You do not want angry ex-employees going to lawyers, especially when you lack the documentation to support the termination.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, June 10, 2019
Do your employees understand that social media is a very public conversation?
“It’s 2019. All of our employees have been on Facebook for years. Many are also on Twitter, and Instagram, and … We don’t need to do any social media training.”
If you’ve had these thoughts or internal conversations, allow me to offer Exhibit 1 as to why you are wrong.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, June 7, 2019
WIRTW #556 (the “comfort zone” edition)
My comfort zone is most definitely not at a biker rally. Yet, that's where I found myself last Saturday afternoon. The things we do for our kids. 🤷♂️
Click here for Fake ID’s killer set opener, War Pigs, by Black Sabbath, recorded at the Ohio Bike Week Block Party.
Needless to say, I’m pretty darn proud of my (not so) little girl.
Your next chance to see them live is June 15 at Crocker Park, in Westlake, Ohio. Details here for this free show.
Here’s what I read this week.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, June 6, 2019
An obituary for employment at-will
Well, Donna, there’s no need to terminate these laws; they are already dead.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, June 5, 2019
SCOTUS decides whether Title VII’s charge-filing precondition to suit is jurisdictional or non-jurisdictional
To file a private employment discrimination lawsuit under one of the federal employment discrimination statutes, a plaintiff must first exhaust his or her remedies by filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Proposed law wants to convert “anti-vaxxer” into a protected class
With a couple of important exceptions, an employer can require that employees be up to date on their vaccinations.
The exceptions?
1/ An employee with an ADA disability that prevents him or her from receiving a vaccine may be entitled to an exemption from a mandatory vaccination requirement as a reasonable accommodation.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, June 3, 2019
Thorough internal investigation saves employer from discrimination claim
Open and shut discrimination case? Not quite.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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