This is why employees need lawyers and why employers get sued. A fellow blogger, Evil HR Lady, reports that some hospital has told its medical staff they must stay away from work when they are ill with the H1N1 flu and such illnesses will count as Unexcused Absences. Such time will count as an
General
Pantsuits are Still an Issue?
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
Are pantsuits still verbotten as professional wear? Recently, the new US Solicitor General (ie, the person who actually argues cases to the US Supreme Court on behalf of the federal government) appeared before the US Supreme Court wearing a pantsuit. One might shrug and think no big deal. But her choice became the topic of…
Employers do the Craziest Things….
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
Employers do the craziest things. One employer in Tennessee, according to this report, tested employees for using *lawful* prescription drugs. Yes, the employer was testing for prescription drugs. They apparently rook action against employees who refused to stop taking some prescription drugs. The EEOC filed suit, saying these tests amounted to unlawful medical inquiries.
The Real Norma Rae Passed
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
The real Norma Rae died last week. Chrystal Lee Sutton worked in a North Carolina textile mill when she started trying to organize a union at the plant due to the low wages and poor working conditions., She was fired and forcibly evicted from the plant. As she was being taken away by…
Do not Over-React
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
Sometimes, the best advocacy is the least advocacy. Subtle can persuade better than histrionics. Read Mike Maslanka’s post about the president‘s speech last week. When the President was accused of lying, he did not over-react. He under-reacted. His subtle reaction said more than histrionics ever could. Mike then relates a similar experience from one…
“Fight Club” Results in Prison Time
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
A former Corpus Christi State School employee was convicted in the "fight club" trials. D’angelo Riley was sentenced to 4 years in prison and 8 years probation for arranging some of the fights. One report said he was one of the ring leaders. He was the second state school employee to receive prison time…
What You Say Online can get You in Court
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
What you say online can come back and get you in court. See a list of such cases from IMS.
Forcing Employee to Provide Login Info can Violate Statute
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
If an employer accesses an employee’s social networking site without permission, or worse, accesses the site under threat of termination, then the employer may be liable for a claim of invasion of privacy and violation of the federal Stored Communication Act. Such was the result in a federal lawsuit in New Jersey. Delaware Employment…
Workplace Bullying Linked to Insomnia
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
Workplace bullying leads to insomnia, even for those co-workers who merely observe the harassment. In a study conducted of middle aged persons in France, men and women who suffered some harassment at work were twice as likely to suffer sleeping problems. For the study, they defined bullying as hostile actions designed to offend or oppress…
An Employer can Fire an Employee for the Wrong Reason
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
I used to get referrals from the San Antonio Bar Association. These referrals included many clients who had never spoken to a lawyer anywhere. Many of them would call complaining basically about unfair treatment. I still get calls like that, sometimes. They might say, "my employer fired me because they claim I did not call…