Employment Blogs
What to do when the EEOC comes a-knocking
You’ve just received a charge from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) in the mail. Your former 59-year-old employee, whose job you eliminated last month while he was on disability leave, has filed a complaint with the EEOC against your company alleging age and disability discrimination and retaliation. What do you do?
Barefoot and pregnant: Where do you stand?
You must treat pregnant workers the same as non-pregnant workers similar in their ability or inability to work. This does not give pregnant employees “most-favored-nation status.” But it does create a reasonable accommodation requirement for healthy pregnancies.
There’s no such thing as a free intern
Free interns can prove costly if they become employee plaintiffs in a lawsuit or Department of Labor complaint. Picture this: Your college-aged daughter works in an office from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., five days a week, answering phones and making coffee and photocopies. And she does this for no pay, no career training and no academic credit.
A single tweet… and the ‘Putty Tat’ may get ya!
Just because you’re a yellow bird doesn’t mean you may tweet to your heart’s content at work on company time and equipment, or anywhere if your tweets (or other online posts) consist of:
racial, ethnic or sexual slurs toward other employees;
defamatory comments about the company, other employees or clients;
personal gripes that violate harassment, discrimination or non-disparagement policies;
company confidential information; or
illegal activity.
What’s love got to do with it?
Romantic love and work are not good bedfellows, despite what you’ve seen on “Mad Men,” “Boston Legal,” and “The Office.” For example, allowing your supervisors to date their subordinates may lead to an affair you would prefer not to remember.