U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenges EEOC over its “unreasonable” enforcement tactics
I’ve written before about federal courts taking the EEOC to task for its overly aggressive litigation tactics (for example, here , here , he...
A rock-and-roll employment lesson, via the Old 97’s
By Jon Hyman
Last Thursday night, I took my daughter to see the Old 97’s . By way of backstory, Norah performed an Old 97’s song, The New Kid , during he...
EEOC cracks down on employer’s "English-only" rule
By Jon Hyman
The EEOC yesterday announced that it has filed a lawsuit against a Wisconsin metal and plastic products manufacturer, claiming that it fire...
Equal treatment in workplace misconduct helps avoid an ugly discrimination claim
By Jon Hyman
Matthew Caiazza worked as a nurse at Mercy Medical Center. He would often take smoke breaks with Jennifer Jones, a food services worker. On ...
WIRTW #324 (the “Wir werden du bald sehen” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I have used this space to write a lot about my family. You know I’m married , have two amazing children, Norah and Donovan , and a dog . Bu...
Federal court blows up EEOC's stance on medical leaves of absence
By Jon Hyman
I had this long elaborate post written about Hwang v. Kansas State University (5/29/14) [pdf] , in which the 10th Circuit court of appeals...
What the f‽ NLRB allows employee to curse out the boss
By Jon Hyman
During a meeting about commissions, minimum wage, and employee breaks, an employee lost his temper, angrily calling his supervisors words su...
A black and blue lawsuit: Tiffany & Co. sued for race discrimination
By Jon Hyman
My dog’s name is Loula Mae. “Loula” is name of the dog on the kids cartoon Pocoyo , which my son was obsessed with when we got her. “Mae” ...
Employers beware: EEOC appears to be stepping up disability discrimination enforcement
By Jon Hyman
Last month, the EEOC announced that it was seeking “public input on potential revisions to the regulations implementing Section 501 of th...
WIRTW #323 (the "why I hate lawyers" edition)
By Jon Hyman
YouTube is filled with examples of lawyers behaving badly . Yet, this example from Above the Law, entitled, “ Pro Tip For Lawyers: Don’t Thr...
Why you should be paying your interns
By Jon Hyman
Unpaid interns have been on the DOL’s hit list since 2010 . I’ve warned employers that most unpaid internships have gone the way of the dod...
NLRB judge gives booby prize to Hooters' workplace policies
By Jon Hyman
In Hooters of Ontario Mills [pdf] , an NLRB Administrative Law Judge found that a California franchisee of Hooters unlawfully fired a waitr...
Prejudice vs. Racism: Please don't confuse the two
By Jon Hyman
Last week, Inc. interviewed the billionaire, entrepreneur owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban . In light of Donald Sterling , racism ...
WIRTW #322 (the “indestructible butterflies” edition)
By Jon Hyman
One of the benefits of writing this blog is that, every once in a while, I get the opportunity to very publicly brag about one of my kids do...
Apparently, an employee doesn’t need to sign a noncompete for an employer to enforce it
By Jon Hyman
I’ve always thought that for an employer to enforce a non-competition agreement against an employee, the employee actually had to sign the ...
Two cups, one termination
By Jon Hyman
Cause for a termination is often in the eye of beholder. Or, to put it another way, what might seem trivial to one can be a big enough deal ...
This week in racism (part 2): Macklemore
By Jon Hyman
Last night, I caught up on Louie on my DVR. At the end of the episode, Louis CK made the following observation about love: How do you know...
This week in racism
By Jon Hyman
If you’re a public figure and you’re caught calling the President “that f—king n-----,” do you: Apologize profusely in a vain effort to s...
WIRTW #321 (the “quality vs. quantity” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Are you too busy? Is the quality of your output suffering because of the quantity of your commitments (professional and personal)? This art...
A bird in the hand? Court refuses to compel lewd picture in harassment case
By Jon Hyman
Laverne Battle claimed that her supervisor at the District of Columbia Metro Police Department texted from his cell phone to her cell phone...
Should you check your employee's social media accounts?
By Jon Hyman
Monday’s Wall Street Journal had a compelling counterpoint about whether employers should be checking their employees’ social media account...
Dont' be that boss: company pays big for use of the n-word
By Jon Hyman
If you’re African-American, your boss (who happens to be the president’s son and part owner) calls you and other African-American employees ...
If you're caught sunbathing nude, on the roof of your elementary school-employer, don't sue for retaliation
By Jon Hyman
Charles Davis is a long-time custodian for Unified School District No. 500. In 2007, he was caught on the roof of the elementary school at w...
WIRTW #320 (the "did you hear the one about…?" edition)
By Jon Hyman
After the week I’ve had, I think some humor is in order. Apparently, I’m not the only one. This article from the Wall Street Journal sugges...
EEOC continues fight against severance agreements,while employers fight back
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this year, I reported on a groundbreaking lawsuit the EEOC filed against CVS challenging as retaliatory some garden-variety provisio...
How flexible are our modern workplaces?
By Jon Hyman
As I type, I’m 30,000 feet above Pennsylvania, flying to see my dad, who’s waiting in the hospital for surgery. As you read, i’m probably si...
Potty mouthed employees
By Jon Hyman
Most non-union employees are at-will, which means you can fire them for any reason, good, bad, or for no reason at all (as long as some othe...
The NLRB is looking to overturn email solicitation rules
By Jon Hyman
In Register Guard , the NLRB held that an employer’s solicitation or other communication policy can lawfully bar employees’ non-work related...