In a stunning move, billion-dollar Starbucks investors urge the coffee retailer to go “union neutral”
Trillium Asset Management, which holds $48 million of Starbucks stock, is leading the charge on behalf of a billion-dollar-plus group of inv...
Does your employment lawyer speak emoji and meme?
By Jon Hyman
After a workplace discussion between employees about employees had been discussing concerns about a superior's management style, an empl...
The 5th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2022” is … the sh**ty superior
By Jon Hyman
I thought I had seen all variety and manner of worst employer. Then Suzanne Lucas sent me this story . Boss who gave employees energy drin...
WIRTW #617: the “drive-thru” edition
By Jon Hyman
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of guesting on DriveThruHR , one of the oldest and (in my opinion) best HR radio shows/podcasts. We dis...
Local bag company learns an expensive lesson on wage and hour compliance
By Jon Hyman
A federal judge has ordered American Made Bags to pay $189,756 to a group of 48 employees, half as unpaid wages and half as liquidated dama...
The wage and hour risks of rounding
By Jon Hyman
"Iraene" asks the following question on the Antiwork subreddit . I was told to round down or round up my time. So if I start work...
The time has come to limit the overuse and overbreadth of noncompetition agreements
By Jon Hyman
It's been nearly five years since I asked this question : "Is your non-compete agreement killing a fly with a sledgehammer?" N...
THIS is why craft breweries need to pay very close attention to labor unions
By Jon Hyman
It was a simple question posed in the Craft Beef Professionals Facebook group : "Conversations on fair compensation are extremely imp...
WIRTW #616: the “cocktail” edition
By Jon Hyman
Have you heard about Pravda Brewery , in Lviv, Ukraine. It has stopped producing craft beer and instead is making Molotov cocktails for the ...
Brewery CEO out after backlash to controversial vaccine comments
By Jon Hyman
Vaccine mandates are a crime against humanity. If you are not speaking out against them, you are a conspirator. Those are the words Josh St...
I’m not quite ready to declare the pandemic over, but I am ready to stop writing about it every single day
By Jon Hyman
Nearly two years ago, I re-branded the Ohio Employer Law Blog as the Coronavirus Law Blog . It was a bit of marketing combined with the rea...
If you want to get yourself into discrimination hot water, stereotype your protected-class employees
By Jon Hyman
To cases recently settled by the EEOC illustrate the point that stereotypes of protected-class employees are a quick path an expensive lesso...
Coronavirus Update 2-28-22: CDC eliminates mask guidance for 70% of Americans
By Jon Hyman
The CDC has issued new mask guidance based on the level of Covid-19 in a specific county. In counties with a low level of Covid ( green )...
WIRTW #615: the “prayers” edition
By Jon Hyman
I pray for the people of Ukraine. I pray for democracy. I pray for diplomacy. I pray for Europe. I pray for troops everywhere, ours and ever...
I hate “Tattleware”
By Jon Hyman
I thought I had my next Worst Employer nominee. News broke yesterday of the mass exodus of employees from real estate company CoStar after...
Tip credits and tip pools — the tip of the FLSA iceberg
By Jon Hyman
No employment law is more misunderstood and misapplied by employers than the Fair Labor Standards Act, our federal wage and hour law. There ...
Vacation (all I ever wanted) — 7 tips to encourage your employees to use their paid time off
By Jon Hyman
"AITA for turning my work phone off on vacation?" That's the question that someone recently posted on the eponymous subreddit...
This dissenting opinion in the United Airlines vaccine-mandate case is 58 pages of pure judicial rage
By Jon Hyman
It's been a little over three months since a federal district court in Forth Worth, Texas, denied a preliminary injunction to a group o...
WIRTW #614: the “North Star” edition
By Jon Hyman
I spent yesterday at my kids' school, Lake Ridge Academy . With the assistance of Grant Lichtman , an internationally recognized thought...
An employer has disability discrimination problems if the interactive process isn’t interactive
By Jon Hyman
You'd think an employer with the name Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities would know a thing or two about complying with workpl...
A step in the right direction to ending workplace sexual harassment
By Jon Hyman
When is the last time you recall Congress agreeing on anything ? Well, it happened last week, when the Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbi...
What do you do for a living?
By Jon Hyman
The question, "What do you do for a living," doesn't have a straight-line answer. My law firm bio offers several answers. T...
The 4th nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2022” is … the WTF racist
By Jon Hyman
I can't do these truly awful allegations of systemic racism, racist harassment, and retaliation any more justice than the actual allegat...
WIRTW #613: the “competition” edition
By Jon Hyman
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14036, Promoting Competition in the American Economy . Its goal is to reduce the tr...
Peloton’s dubious severance package
By Jon Hyman
Facing the consequences of some poor business decisions and an uncertain future, Peloton made the difficult decision to lay off approximatel...
We are officially in the Golden Age of Union Organizing. How will your company respond?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the White House Task Force on Worker Organization and Empowerment released its 45-page report on the use of executive branch pol...
An employee can’t sue over a job never applied for
By Jon Hyman
Staci Russell, a dean at Cornerstone Health High School, sued her employer for sex discrimination after she was passed over for the open pri...
Jon and the Social Media Pub Crawl
By Jon Hyman
A big thank you to Allessandria Polizzi for having me as a guest on her Be Verdant Podcast . We took a 40-minute tour through the state of...
WIRTW #612: the “when I went to college” edition
By Jon Hyman
I turn 49 years old in nine days. I was recently reminded of my age when I came across this blog post from my alma mater, Binghamton Univer...
Brian Flores burns down the house in his lawsuit against the NFL … and makes himself unemployable in the process
By Jon Hyman
If you haven't read the lawsuit Brian Flores filed against the NFL and three of its franchises, you should. It reads like a law school ...
The 3rd nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2022” is … the cancerous employment canceler
By Jon Hyman
"Focus on your health," is a nice sentiment for an employer to share with an employee who is awaiting the results of cancer testin...
Coronavirus Update 2-1-22: I just gave my kids the worst business trip souvenir ever
By Jon Hyman
In the before times, when I actually traveled for business, I'd always try to come home with a souvenir for the kids. A t-shirt, a stuff...
Coronavirus Update 1-31-22: Employees should not be choosing between their jobs and working while ill
By Jon Hyman
I return to the office today after a one-week Covid-inducted work-from-home hiatus. I'm fortunate that as a professional I have the abil...
WIRTW #611: the “masthead” edition
By Jon Hyman
Early on in the pandemic, I rebranded and renamed the Ohio Employer Law Blog to the Coronavirus Law Blog . The change was part marketing sav...
Coronavirus Update 1-27-22: Whole Foods 1 – Maskhole 0 😷
By Jon Hyman
You have every right to believe that masks are a form of government control or a satanic tool. You're very wrong, but you are free to be...
Coronavirus Update 1-26-22: OSHA doesn’t need an ETS to go after your business’s Covid-safety deficiencies
By Jon Hyman
With the Supreme Court effectively killing OSHA Covid-19 vax-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard, and OSHA now officially withdrawing it,...
The 2nd nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2022” is … the claim-filing clinic
By Jon Hyman
Suppose you have a group of unhappy employees. They don't like their working conditions. They don't like their pay. They generally w...
Coronavirus Update 1-24-22: I’m a Covid statistic
By Jon Hyman
It was a calculated risk. I've been so careful for the past 22 months. We don't socialize outside of a very small bubble. We don...
WIRTW #610: the “humor is the best medicine” edition
By Jon Hyman
On behalf of myself and my daughter, I'd like to thank everyone for all of the kind words of encouragement and support I received for ou...
If you treat employees like they are fungible, they will act like they are fungible
By Jon Hyman
I spent the past few days at the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference promoting my new venture, OhioBeerLawyers.com . In addition to being one of t...
Accountability always starts at the top
By Jon Hyman
How do you respond to an employee who states that the Covid-19 vaccine is a plot by "the Jews" to exterminate people? Does your an...
A very special episode of The Norah and Dad Show, talking about teen mental health
By Jon Hyman
I recently asked you, my readers, followers, and friends, for a favor. I asked you to take a moment to hug your kids a little stronger and ...
Stepping out of my confort zone
By Jon Hyman
Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone to move forward, including in one's career. For the past 25 years, I've been a ...
BREAKING NEWS: SCOTUS dumps OSHA vax-or-test emergency temporary standard
By Jon Hyman
The Supreme Court has issued its opinion in the appeal of the 6th Circuit's decision that vacated the 5th Circuit's stay of OSHA...
Coronavirus Update 1-13-22: The CDC is not updating its mask guidelines to better protect against Omicron … but it should
By Jon Hyman
The CDC is not considering updating its current mask guidelines to recommend that everyone wear highly protective N95 or KN95 masks, contrar...
Pumping up workplace lactation rights
By Jon Hyman
The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with Labcorp over allegations that it failed to provide lactating employees a space fo...
The 2nd nominee for the “Worst Employer of 2022” is … the enslaving employer
By Jon Hyman
An allegation of slavery has played into each of the last three Worst Employer winners. Thus, even at this early point in this year's li...
The “Penny Pincher” gets sued for retaliation — an update on a 2021 Worst Employer finalist
By Jon Hyman
A OK Walker Autoworks and its owner, Miles Walker, a 2021 Worst Employer finalist , finished dead last in last year's voting , garnering...
WIRTW #609: the “hugs” edition
By Jon Hyman
Everyone do me a favor and hug your kids a little stronger and a little longer tonight. They all need it. — Jon Hyman 💉😷 (@jonhyman) Janua...
Coronavirus Update 1-6-22: Starbucks become first employer of note to adopt OSHA vaccine-or-test emergency temporary standard
By Jon Hyman
I don't know what you'll be doing tomorrow morning at 10 am. But I do know what most employment lawyers will be doing — their best t...