We are thrilled that you read our blog and hope that you are finding it informative, entertaining and beneficial to you and your work.  If you have comments, suggestions or ideas, please let us know.  We love feedback and we want to be sure the blog is what you, our readers, find most useful.

Of course, there are plenty of newsworthy stories on human resources and labor and employment law issues that we are not able to get to in our blog posts.  Here are some links to recent stories and articles that we have found interesting, and thought you might enjoy as well:

  • The National Labor Relations Board finds that Costco’s social media policy is overbroad, affirming guidance released by the Board’s acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon.  Inside Counsel

Employers often wonder about how best to deal with employees with disabilities. Even in this enlightened, post-ADAAA (Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008) society, there are still employers that are afraid to hire applicants or worry about keeping employees who they learn have some type of physical or mental impairment that constitutes a disability.

However, according to an article published on Diversityinc.com, How Recruiting People With Disabilities Solved Toyota’s Costly Problem, when Toyota Motor North America needed to add a production process that would require additional employees to implement, the company decided to utilize its employees with known developmental disabilities to handle the project. 

When an employee takes FMLA leave there is usually nothing to write home about.  The employee requests leave properly, provides the required medical certification in a timely fashion, and returns to work when she says she will.  All is well.

But what do you do if an employee takes intermittent FMLA leave before a long weekend and then shows up Monday with a nice new tan?  What if an employee takes leave to care for a sick family member, but the workplace begins buzzing that he was really at the big game?  Many employers experience, or at least suspect, FMLA abuse.  When you have a case of potential abuse on your hands, however, you must tread carefully. 

Does any employee believe that interrupting a meeting of company executives and mooning them would not get you fired?  Well, we found one who does, and he even went to court over his belief.  His story is a good reminder about handling awful behavior and terminating employees the right way.

As reported yesterday, Jason Selch worked for an asset management company that, through some mergers, became a subsidiary of Bank of America.  He was upset with his proposed compensation after the merger.  He got even angrier when a co-worker he liked was fired after refusing to accept a lower compensation plan.  So, Selch decided to protest in his own, special way — he burst into a meeting of executives and, after confirming he was not subject to a non-compete, he mooned the executives and left.

Back in March, we warned you that for-profit businesses using the services of unpaid interns were at risk due to the increased scrutiny being given to whether such unpaid internships violate federal and state wage and hour law.

Since then, there have been several developments (two by a serial plaintiff) that have only increased the risks faced by for-profit businesses using the services of unpaid interns, including, but not limited to, the fact that:

  • Plaintiffs in a lawsuit in federal court in New York (Eric Glatt, et al. v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.) have expressed their intention to add claims on behalf of unpaid interns who worked for News Corp.’s Fox Entertainment Group unit;

I love the Little League World Series.  Classic Americana.  Teams from all over the U.S. and the world play, and proud parents watch them.

Billie Ann Tomei’s son Cole and his team from California (which was coached by her husband Trevor) were good enough to play in the Little League World Series.  But when Billie Ann, an office manager for a CPA, asked for time off to travel to see Cole play, her boss said “No.”  According to Billie Ann, he told her, “If you go, write yourself your last [pay]check.”

Well, Billie Ann wrote herself that check and went to see her son play.  Do you think she regrets her decision?

Employers in the Atlanta area may have heard about this story of a school teacher seeking additional paid time off to care for his wife, who is suffering from a rare bacterial infection that required the amputation of her hands and feet.  His co-workers have tried to come to his aid:  other teachers at the school have offered to “donate” some of their accrued paid time off (“PTO”) to the teacher, who has already exhausted all of his PTO caring for his wife.  However, the school board rejected those offers, citing a policy that prohibits employees from transferring PTO.  Here is how a school board spokesperson explained the situation to a local newspaper:

Last week a California Appeals court ruled that a decision not to renew an expiring employment contract cannot form the basis of a wrongful termination case. Nicollette Sheridan, former co-star of the one-time hit television drama “Desperate Housewives,” lost her wrongful termination claim against the show, the network, and its creators when the court ruled that she was not “fired, discharged or terminated.” Instead, the network exercised its option not to renew her employment contract.

As my colleague considered several months ago, organizations like the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) have been fighting for decades to counter the prejudices many have against obese individuals.  As part of its efforts, NAAFA is working to establish federal and state laws making obesity a protected class.  To date, however, these efforts have only resulted in one state (Michigan) and a handful of cities passing laws making weight-based discrimination illegal.

While efforts to make obesity a protected class have not been especially successful, there has, however, been more movement towards the greater recognition of obesity as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).   My colleague previously noted that a federal district court in Louisiana had found that an employee who weighed 527 pounds at the time of her termination was “an individual with a disability” as defined under the ADA.

You are the HR manager and have just received an FMLA leave request from an employee.  At almost exactly the same time, the employee’s supervisor comes to you wanting to terminate the employee because of performance issues.  You know that FMLA leave does not prohibit an employer from taking action based on an unrelated, legitimate business reason, so you review the supervisor’s information (which supports termination) and sign off on the decision.

Of course, the employee then sues the company for violating the FMLA, claiming the termination was retaliation for her leave request.  Later, you learn that the supervisor’s information that justified termination was not true or not supported by the facts.  You (and others) were duped by the supervisor to permit the termination!  It may be cold comfort for the company that, at least, this isn’t a willful violation of the FMLA, rendering the company liable for double damages, also known as liquidated damages.

Or is it?