WIRTW #264 (the “never go to work, part 2” edition)
Marissa Meyers and her edict ending telecommuting at Yahoo continues to dominate the headlines. Here are the best articles from around the b...
Fight or flight? When an employee sues you, should you litigate or settle?
By Jon Hyman
Two weeks ago, the New York Times’s You’re the Boss Blog asked the following question: How do you handle employee litigation? Do you dig...
Who's the "knucklehead?" Employee loses retaliation claim after slurring co-worker
By Jon Hyman
The original "knucklehead" Noreen Wilson worked as a pharmacist for The Cleveland Clinic. From August 24 through November 4, 2...
Beware saying too much when engaging in pre-suit settlement negotiations
By Jon Hyman
Most lawsuits between employers and employees do not start out as lawsuits. They start out as conversations between the aggrieved employee...
Is an employer obligated to provide light duty to an employee returning from FMLA leave?
By Jon Hyman
Many employers use temporary light duty assignments to enable ill or injured employees to return to work before they are fully healed. In fa...
WIRTW #263 (the “never go to work” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I’m writing this week’s recap from the comfort of my home study, a fact that strongly suggests my opinion on Yahoo’s recent mandate prohibit...
New FMLA forms, posters, coming next week
By Jon Hyman
If you are an FMLA-covered business, you need to know that FMLA posters and forms you use are about to change. The U.S. Department of Labo...
How long is too long for an unpaid medical leave of absence? Not two weeks and a day.
By Jon Hyman
Unpaid medical leaves of absence are the bane of many employers. There should be little doubt that employers must consider an unpaid leave a...
Ohio attempts to ban employers from seeking social media passwords (take 2)
By Jon Hyman
Last week, seven Ohio democratic senators introduced Senate Bill 45 , which would prohibit employers “from requiring an applicant or employe...
Does social media change the meaning of “solicitation?”
By Jon Hyman
Consider the following scenario. Your company uses sales representatives to sell its products. To protect your company’s relationship with i...
WIRTW #262 (the “what would you do” edition)
By Jon Hyman
By now you’ve probably heard about the man who slapped crying toddler on an airplane after dropping an n-bomb on the child. In addition to ...
It’s your last chance … to avoid retaliation
By Jon Hyman
Last month, the EEOC announced a half-million dollar settlement with BASF Corporation. The agency alleged that BASF retaliated against a po...
Customer preference does not protect employers from race discrimination claims
By Jon Hyman
CNN reports that a Flint, Michigan, nurse is suing her hospitalbecause it kowtowed to a man’s request that no African-American employees ca...
Of storks and honesty—avoid shifting reasons when defending an employment decision
By Jon Hyman
“Norah doesn’t want to have babies when she’s older because she doesn’t want them cut out of her belly.” This is what my wife reports our si...
Obsessing (compulsively) over reasonable accommodations
By Jon Hyman
I grew up with a guy who really liked the Presidents of the United States (the actual Presidents, not the 90s alt-rock band ). He was so fon...
WIRTW #261 (the “lonely hearts club” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Since this is Valentine’s week, I thought I’d share of the best “workplace romance” themed posts I read this week: Don’t Break Hearts When...
We ♥ our phones, but should employees be paid for using them off-duty?
By Jon Hyman
True confession time. I have a Pavlovian response to the new message chime on my iPhone. I can’t help myself. When my phone beeps, I reach f...
Happy ADEA Day (to me). Now let’s rewrite the age discrimination laws.
By Jon Hyman
I’m a white male, which means I’ve spent my entire life unprotected by the various civil rights laws to which I’ve devoted my career. Yes, I...
BREAKING: FMLA compliance is not as easy as the DOL says [poll results]
By Jon Hyman
In celebration of the FMLA’s 20th anniversary, the Department of Labor released the results of a survey of employers on their experiences m...
Laughing out the door: half of employees admit to stealing corporate data
By Jon Hyman
Do you worry about the information, data, and other property your employees are taking with them after a resignation or termination? If you ...
WIRTW #260 (the “award season” edition)
By Jon Hyman
It’s award season. The Grammys are this weekend, and the Oscars a few weeks later. About.com is also handing out some awards, albeit a lot l...
Employer Bill of Rights is (finally) available for Kindle
By Jon Hyman
It took a little head bashing of the fine folks at Amazon, but The Employer Bill of Rights is finally available for download onto your Kin...
Workplace social media policies must account for generational issues
By Jon Hyman
Cisco recently interviewed 3,600 Gen Y College students and workers between the ages of 18 and 30. The purpose of the survey was to gauge t...
The revolution WILL be televised … Shore up your social media before a termination
By Jon Hyman
Last week, music retailer HMV laid off 190 employees . One of the affected, a former HR employee, hijacked the company's Twitter account...
DOL: Employers find it easy to comply with the FMLA. What?!?! [poll]
By Jon Hyman
Twenty year ago today, President Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act into law. To commemorate this anniversary, the Department o...
How do you fight invisible discrimination?
By Jon Hyman
With what seemed like most of Cleveland's western ‘burbs, I spent part of my Sunday afternoon shopping at Costco. My trip not only inclu...