Can you require flu shots for your employees?
As the calendar winds its way into autumn, and as the temperature starts to trend downward, we move into flu season. Which is why should ...
Are you sure you want to take that case to trial?
By Jon Hyman
Consider Locigno v. 425 West Bagley, Inc. [pdf] , decided last week by an Ohio appellate court. This case is remarkable. Because of some...
WIRTW #431 (the “stop breaking down” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Last Saturday was Jack White show #1 for Norah and her School of Rock friends. One of my personal highlights was Norah singing The White Str...
Yes, these are my readers
By Jon Hyman
It’s rare that I write a same-day follow-up post, but an email I received from a reader in response to this morning’s post merits special...
Discourse matters
By Jon Hyman
My eight-year-old son hates Donald Trump. I know hate is a strong word. I rarely use it (except when describing the most evil of all condi...
When is December 1 not December 1? When two lawsuits challenge the new overtime rules.
By Jon Hyman
On December 1, the Department of Labor’s new salary test for exempt employees is set to take effect, raising the salary level to qualify f...
Regulating social media at work is a Sisyphean task
By Jon Hyman
According to Ajilon (as reported by BenefitsPro ), American employees spend 140 per year (or an average of 33 minutes per day) on Face...
11th circuit decision on dreadlocks and race asks big questions on the meaning of discrimination
By Jon Hyman
In EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions [pdf] , the EEOC asked the 11th Circuit to determine whether banning an African-American empl...
WIRTW #430 (the “third man” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I have officially dubbed September Jack White Month in the Hyman house. I’ve never hid my love of all things Jack White . So, when the sam...
The NLRB is now basically creating unfair labor practices out of thin air
By Jon Hyman
Image via forbes.com Those that have been readers for awhile know of my dislike of the NLRB’s expansion of its doctrine of protected con...
When it’s better to be lucky than good
By Jon Hyman
Employers, sometimes it is better to be lucky than to be good. Case in point? Graves v. Dayton Gastroenterology [pdf] , decided yesterday...
Our employment discrimination laws are not a pretense
By Jon Hyman
Last week, the 6th Circuit decided Richardson v. Wal-Mart Stores [pdf] , a fairly run of the mill age discrimination lawsuit. The court d...
Forced retirement is an age discrimination no-no
By Jon Hyman
Image credit: slate.com The EEOC has sued a Colorado hospital for age discrimination. The key allegation? That it forced employees to r...
WIRTW #429 (the "top 10" edition)
By Jon Hyman
Blame it on the Labor Day holiday and the resulting short work week, but the labor and employment news has been a bit scarce this week. So, ...
Free Speech, Social Media, and Your Job
By Jon Hyman
One of the biggest misconceptions that employees hold is that the First Amendment grants them free speech rights in a private workplace. Q...
Fox Settles Sexual Harassment Suit with Gretchen Carlson
By Jon Hyman
What do you get when you add a high profile sexual harassment suit, a highly compensated employee, and a well known target? $20 million....
Associational disability discrimination claims are rare, yet dangerous
By Jon Hyman
I have been blessed with employers that are sympathetic to the fact that my son was born with some life-long medical issues . I’ve never h...
WIRTW #428 (the “science is fun” edition)
By Jon Hyman
I never thought I’d be the parent of private school kids. I am a proud survivor of the School District of Philadelphia, and always assumed t...
The ADA and prescription meds: what you need to know
By Jon Hyman
Can an employer include prescription medications in its drug screening of job applicants and employees? Here’s a good lawyer answer for y...
Did the NLRB do more harm than good by permitting teaching and research assistants to organize?
By Jon Hyman
Last week, in Trustees of Columbia University [pdf] , the National Labor Relations Board upended decades of precedent by holding that f...
What employers can learn from EEOC's new Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the EEOC published its final Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues . It’s the agency’s first formal guidance ...
An anniversary love story
By Jon Hyman
Thirteen years ago today I married my best friend. I’m happy to report that the thunderstorms that rocked Cleveland on August 29, 2003, were...
WIRTW #427 (the “treat me like your mother” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Someday I am going to convert this legal blog into a full-time dad/music blog. Until then, you get my semi-regular kids/musical posts. Like ...
OSHA's new Whistleblower Investigations Manual creates a huge burden for employers
By Jon Hyman
Image via Lifehack.org http://goo.gl/sn/VO1H We typically think of OSHA in terms of workplace safety. Safety, however, is only a small p...
A wage/hour primer for employers with tipped employees
By Jon Hyman
Employment Law 360 is reporting that a waitress is suing Walt Disney World for improperly taking a “tip credit” and paying her less than ...
Did the 7th Circuit finally kill McDonnell Douglas?
By Jon Hyman
If you are an employment lawyer, the words “McDonnell Douglas” will bring a sentimental tear to your eye. For the unfamiliar, the McDonn...
Federal court's rejection of LGBT discrimination claim on religious grounds has scary implications
By Jon Hyman
Last week, a Michigan federal judge rejected the EEOC’s claim that Title VII covers transgender status or gender identity as protected cla...
WIRTW #426 (the “back to school” edition)
By Jon Hyman
They are responsible for the matching outfits, not me. Norah and Donovan could not be happier to be back @lakeridgeacademy. #backtosc...
Hard to believe that overt pregnancy discrimination still exists … yet it does
By Jon Hyman
Pregnancy discrimination has been unlawful under federal law since 1978. You’d think by now employers would have learned their lesson—that...
DOL wage/hour agreement with Subway raises legitimate joint-employer concerns
By Jon Hyman
The Department of Labor recently unveiled an agreement with Subway through which the fast-food giant has agreed to assist its franchisees ...
When the Department of Labor can’t even figure out the FLSA…
By Jon Hyman
According to Employment Law 360 , the U.S. Department of Labor has agreed to pay $7 million to settle claims that it failed to pay overtim...
ABA amends model professional conduct rules to prohibit discrimination. What took it so long?
By Jon Hyman
Last week, during its annual meeting, the American Bar Association amended its model rules of professional conduct to incorporate employme...
WIRTW #425 (the “tschüss” edition)
By Jon Hyman
The Hymans did not take a vacation this summer. Instead, our vacation came to us. Three years ago we hosted a foreign exchange student fro...
Being accident free is important for a truck driver, says Ohio court
By Jon Hyman
I love common sense legal decisions. Hartman v. Ohio Department of Transportation is one such case. It's holding—four preventable acci...
Are your DOL posters up to date?
By Jon Hyman
Are your Department of Labor posters up to date? Unless you’ve updated them in the past 9 days, then the answer is likely “no”.
WIRTW #424 (the “parking lot” edition)
By Jon Hyman
If you are looking for a fun Sunday afternoon of music and food truck, look no further than the Strongsville School of Rock . On Sunday,...
A humane approach of layoffs
By Jon Hyman
In addition to this blog, I also pen a monthly column for Workforce magazine . Today, I thought I’d share my most recent column, entitled A ...
I thought we were beyond blaming the victim for sexual harassment
By Jon Hyman
This post will be apolitical. I’d hold the same opinion whether the speaker of the comments I intend to discuss was a D, an R, or a somethi...
Hey, look, it’s me on the Channel 5 news!
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of an interview with Megan Hickey of Cleveland’s Channel 5. We talked about OSHA’s new fines that took effect...
Employers, ignore 7th Circuit’s rejection of Title VII LGBT protections
By Jon Hyman
In Hivley v. Ivy Tech Community College (7th Cir. 7/28/16) [pdf] , the 7th Circuit ruled that Title VII does not prohibit sexual-orient...
WIRTW #423 (the “final frontier” edition)
By Jon Hyman
The Icarus Craft (with gold record) As you can tell from reading this weekly column, I’m a bit of a music fan. I’ve also always been fas...
OSHA says “negative” to post-accident testing
By Jon Hyman
Buried in OSHA’s impending final rule on electronic reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses is this little nugget. OSHA believes th...
EEOC offers guidance for Youth@Work
By Jon Hyman
Do you employee minors? If so, you should be aware of the wage-and-hour laws for child labor . The Department of Labor, however, isn’t the...
For God’s sake, think before you email
By Jon Hyman
I have lots of readers. Thousands upon thousands. Do you know who doesn’t read my blog, however? Former DNC Chair (and Congresswoman) Debb...
Ohio Supreme Court sides with workers’ comp fraud
By Jon Hyman
Ohio has a specific statute that protects injured workers from retaliation after filing a workers’ compensation claim. O.R.C. 4123.90 stat...
WIRTW #422 (the “Pikachu” edition)
By Jon Hyman
The story of the week? Not the RNC, but Pokémon GO!, something about which I (happily) know very little. What does the blogosphere have to s...
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of public Wi-Fi?
By Jon Hyman
According to Politico , an IT company set up various fake Wi-Fi networks around the RNC with names such as “Google Starbucks”, “I vote Trump...
Don’t forget your b.s. meter when conducting workplace investigations
By Jon Hyman
By now, you’ve likely heard about the plagiarism flap that has embroiled the GOP following Melania Trump’s Monday-night convention speech. ...
Ohio appellate decision sends working moms back to the 1950s
By Jon Hyman
Employee claims her supervisor advised her not to apply for an open position because, “she is a single mother with kids and if [she] had to ...
Court permits use of employee’s own racist Facebook posts in race-discrimination case
By Jon Hyman
I read with interest this morning’s post on Eric Meyer ’s Employer Handbook Blog , entitled, Court says employee’s Facebook page on race ...
WIRTW #421 (the “D-Man” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Happy 8th birthday (yesterday, actually) to the best son a dad could ask for. He hasn’t had the easiest 8 years, but he’s always smiling and...
When COBRA and workers’ comp collide
By Jon Hyman
Every now and again I get a question from a client to which I don’t know the answer, or the answer surprises me. It doesn’t happen that of...
Why #BlackLivesMatter should matter to employers
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week, an African-American Nashville police officer was decommissioned for changing his Facebook profile photo to that of Black ...
Paternalism vs. pregnancy discrimination
By Jon Hyman
Paternalism and pregnant workers do not mix. Case in point? According to this EEOC press release , the agency has sued a North Carolina re...
Developing an anti-harassment culture is key to stopping workplace harassment
By Jon Hyman
You’ve likely heard that former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes , her former boss...