WIRTW #351 (the “conciliation” edition)
We’re supposed to assume complete good faith on the government’s part and complete bad faith on the part of employers? Chief Justice John ...
Why retaliation claims should keep you up at night
By Jon Hyman
In early 2009, Aker Plant Services terminated the employment of Tommy Sharp as part of workforce reduction. When Sharp asked his supervisor ...
Beware the pregnancy accommodation claim
By Jon Hyman
On Monday I published my list of the five biggest issues employers need to watch and manage in 2015. I listed “pregnancy leave rights” as n...
“Buyer’s regret” as an adverse employment action
By Jon Hyman
Nearly a year ago, in Deleon v. City of Kalamazoo , the 6th Circuit decided that an employee could claim discrimination when he was “involun...
Five for ’15: The legal issues that need to be on your radar
By Jon Hyman
Personally, December is my favorite time of the year. I love the joy and togetherness of the holiday season. Professionally, however, I love...
WIRTW #350 (the “bad reputation” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Allow me to take off my law blogger hat for a moment, and switch to my concert promoter hat. If you love live music and find yourself looki...
Is “wife swapping” a protected class?
By Jon Hyman
Although we are only 8 days into 2015, Lowering the Bar brings us what might be the lawsuit of the year: According to the complaint, th...
The employees who lunch don't need to be paid
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the 6th upheld the dismissal of an FLSA collective action, in which a group of employees had alleged that their employer failed t...
More on the importance of being accommodating
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I wrote about the need for employers to be more accommodating for their employees’ protected needs. Today, I bring you two real-...
A New Year’s accommodation story
By Jon Hyman
We spent part of our winter vacation on a quick family trip to Washington D.C. The Old 97’s, my 8-year-old daughter’s favorite band, was pl...
WIRTW #349 (the “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, y’all” edition)
By Jon Hyman
With the end of the year drawing nigh, today’s post will be my last of 2014 (barring any hot-off-the-presses breaking news). I wish all of m...
The 12 Days of Employment Law Christmas (2014)
By Jon Hyman
For the past two Noels, I published “The 12 Days of Employment Law Christmas.” As this has become a year-end tradition at the blog, I’m shar...
Feds impose LGBT affirmative action on federal contractors
By Jon Hyman
If you are a federal contractor of subcontractor, in four months you will have new affirmative action obligations relating to sexual orienta...
Adverse actions come in all shapes and sizes
By Jon Hyman
Consider these facts, taken from Kudla v. Olympic Steel (Ohio Ct. App. 11/20/14) . Employee, age 65, is fired from his job as part of a cor...
The NLRB was a busy beaver last week
By Jon Hyman
Late last week, the NLRB made huge news. In Purple Communications , the NLRB ruled that employees have a right to use their employers’ email...
WIRTW #348 (the “blackheart” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Twice a year, my kids’ school invites any students in grades K – 5 who take private music lessons to perform in a recital for the entire Lo...
Even Santa needs an employee handbook
By Jon Hyman
The Christmas season is upon us, which means that the elves are hard at work deep inside the confines of the North Pole’s buildings preparin...
#SCOTUS unanimously holds that post-work security checks are unpaid
By Jon Hyman
Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk asks the question of whether the FLSA entitles hourly employees to be paid for post-shift time spent un...
EEOC 0-2 on severance-agreement lawsuits … but does it matter?
By Jon Hyman
Recall that in October, a Chicago federal court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the EEOC against CVS, claiming that the pharmacy retailer’s se...
1.2 million reasons to fight harassment
By Jon Hyman
According to an EEOC press release , a Wyoming federal judge has approved a $1.2 million settlement with three well-servicing companies on b...
WIRTW #347 (the “bad santa” edition)
By Jon Hyman
A big thank you to NPR’s Yuki Noguchi , who interviewed me for a story on office holiday parties gone badly, which ran on Wednesday’s Mornin...
Reading the #SCOTUS tea leaves: Young v. UPS and pregnancy accommodations
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Young v. UPS , which will decide whether Title VII requires an employer to accommodate p...
Let’s all strive to be a little more flexible
By Jon Hyman
Two weeks ago I had no choice but to take my 8-year-old daughter to a hearing. My wife was out of town for work, and Norah was home from sch...
Federal court holds that Title VII does not protect the transgendered
By Jon Hyman
LGBT rights continue to dominate headlines. Last month, the 6th Circuit became the first federal appellate court to uphold a state-law same...
Feds say you can't force high-cost employees onto Health Care Exchange
By Jon Hyman
Do you have an employee with a high-cost medical condition? For example, an employee with hemophilia could incur hundreds of thousands or do...
An employee must ask for ADA accommodation to receive it
By Jon Hyman
By now, hopefully everyone reading this blog knows that the expiration of an employee’s 12 weeks of annual FMLA leave is not necessarily the...
It’s five in a row for the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100
By Jon Hyman
For the fifth year in a row, I am honored that the ABA Journal has chosen the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog for the Blawg 100 , its list of the...
There is no easy fix for the overtime-pay problem
By Jon Hyman
Those of you who are long time readers know they I’ve long rallied for changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act . The law is overly complex, ...