On May 14, 2008, Georgia’s governor signed the newest state gun law that may–may–make it more difficult for employers to ban guns in the workplace.  At one point during the law’s circuitous route through the Georgia General Assembly, it would have prevented employers from banning guns from employee vehicles in employer parking lots.  Although business groups sponsored […]

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Stop thief!  A cry on the subway?  A call for help on a crowded sidewalk?  A homeowner’s shout to neighbors?  Or a frustrating demand from human resources?
Employee theft is nothing new.  It’s just bigger than ever.  I’ve seen estimates that employers in the U.S. lose anywhere from $4 billion to $40 billion per year to […]

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Several days ago, I received a comment that wasn’t in response to a particular post.  I have, as best I could, tried to reach the person who sent it–to no avail yet.  The comment raises a subject that’s worth noting, if not serious consideration, especially since there have been three alleged situations in the past few days […]

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A few months ago, I did a post about an intern who had lost her student teaching position and was denied her teaching credentials because she had posted some objectionable pictures on her MySpace page.  As I noted at the time, Internet privacy is a hot employment law issue, and situations like this aren’t going away.  If anything, they’re […]

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I suppose the first kind of workplace violence was the old-fashioned workplace fight.  Fights still happen at work.  Sometimes, they involve some pushing and shoving.  Sometimes, blows are thrown and landed.  Fights obviously aren’t what you want going on at work–ever.
Almost all employers have rules against fighting on the job.  If you have a handbook, it’ll be in the handbook.  […]

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Whirlpool has suspended 39 employees in Indiana who were seen smoking after declaring themselves eligible for a $500 annual tobacco-free health insurance discount.  (Click here for more.)  Most large employers that have corporate wellness programs involving rewards and fines have generally relied on the honor system, as opposed to investigations or surveillance.  What some see as […]

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The title of this post was the title of a post written for The Employment File less than six months ago.  When spring arrives and turns into summer, employer dress codes usually begin to receive scrutiny.  It’s fair to say that employees would like to dress more casually during warm or hot weather, and whether it’s fair to […]

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In a non-employment law case, the U. S. Supreme Court issued a decision on March 25, 2008, that has implications for the arbitration of disputes about discrimination and other employee rights provided by statute.  The case is Hall Street Associates v. Mattel, which involved an arbitration agreement entered into after a dispute had arisen and […]

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Another thing raised by this week’s cartoon is the issue of language in the workplace–specifically whether an employer can have an English-only rule for a workplace. Until the U. S. Supreme Court decides this issue, we won’t know the answer. There is, however, no shortage of opinions on this issue.
Not surprisingly, the Equal Employment Opportunity […]

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Last week, I did a Q&A post on “dealing with employee handbooks.” As an article in the Hawaii Employment Law Letter notes in its summary of a recent case, there’s a reason to pay close attention to your handbook.
HAWAII NEWS
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK:
Hawaii Supreme Court says handbook isn’t a contract, awards law firm $429,000
Article provided […]

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