Quirky Questions

Real Life Employment Law

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A New Question Every Week

Nearly every day, executives and managers, and the in-house counsel and Human Resources professionals who work with them, are confronted with unanticipated questions regarding the workforce. Just when they think they have "seen it all," along comes a new and often stranger scenario involving an odd twist to an area they thought they fully understood. These individuals often find themselves back at square one when trying to construct an appropriate response and devise a creative solution to the problem presented. Sometimes these "Quirky Questions" can be resolved easily; other times, they implicate practical and legal issues that are not immediately apparent.

This Quirky Employment Questions Blog addresses unanticipated questions regarding the workforce.

We encourage you to submit your thoughts and reactions to the questions presented. We also encourage you to submit questions that you would like to see addressed, subject to these guidelines.

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Author: Rebecca Bernhard

Quirky Question #279: Concerted Activity in 140 Characters or Less

 

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Question: I am a manager in a medium-sized retailer that has locations and employees in 16 states.  The company maintains a social media policy, which was recently updated.  Last week, I noticed that one of our employees posted some pretty nasty things about the company on Twitter.  She accused the company of not treating employees fairly because some had to...

POSTED IN Food & Agriculture Industry Group, Labor Law, Social Media

Quirky Question #269: Like it or Not – Facebook Post Protected Under the NLRA

 

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Question: I own a small manufacturing company that employs 25-35 employees, depending on our workload.  Over the years, a number of my customers and my employees have “friended” me on Facebook.  Last week, I saw that one of our employees had posted a comment that I don’t pay enough overtime and that I’m, “f—ing cheap,” because I don’t give enough...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Food & Agriculture Industry Group, Labor Law, Social Media, Wage and Hour Issues

Quirky Question #259, The FMLA and the ADA: Joined at the Hip

 

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Question: I work in my company’s HR department and we just had an employee ask for additional time off, even though we’ve already given the employee a bunch of time off we are required to under the FMLA.  I wanted to say no but my co-worker here in HR says I have to grant the extra time off.  Who is right?

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Disability Discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Health Care Industry Group

NLRB Published Report Concerning Employee Handbook Rules and Policies

 

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On March 18, 2015, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin published a Report concerning recent case developments arising in the context of employee handbook rules and policies. The thirty-page Report concludes that many commonly-used policies, if not phrased carefully, may have a chilling effect on Section 7 rights to engage in concerted activity. The policies critiqued by  General Counsel Griffin include,...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Labor Law

Supreme Court decides Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 575 U.S. ___ (2015)

 

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The Supreme Court of the United States recently issued its decision in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc.  Vacating and remanding the Fourth Circuit’s decision, the Court concluded that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) “requires courts to consider the extent to which an employer’s policy treats pregnant workers less favorably than it treats nonpregnant workers similar in their ability or...

POSTED IN Uncategorized