Real Life Employment Law
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.
Stephen D. Bell
Michael Droke
Joseph W. Hammell
Sarah Andrews Herman
Ryan E. Mick
William J. Miller
Melissa Raphan
Gregory M. Saylin
Gabrielle Wirth
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Quirky Question # 109: We recently discovered that one of our company’s computers was used to access pornographic websites. Many different employees had access to this computer, but we believe we know who is responsible. In part, our conclusion is based on the fact that he is the only male employee who has access to that computer. We’re thinking about...
CONTRASTS IN CLAIMS: EVALUATING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS—Part II— A “False Claim” Barbara Long, M.D., Ph.D., A.B.P.N. Employment law Title VII claims often include claims of significant emotional distress allegedly caused by inappropriate remarks, touches, and other behaviors in the workplace. When a supervisor, as opposed to a coworker, has been the alleged instigator of the reportedly offensive behavior, emotional distress claims...
CONTRASTS IN CLAIMS: EVALUATING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS—Part I—the “Eggshell Plaintiff” Barbara Long, M.D., Ph.D., A.B.P.N. Employment law Title VII claims often include allegations of significant emotional distress allegedly caused by reportedly inappropriate remarks, touches, and other behaviors in the workplace. When a supervisor, as opposed to a coworker, has been the alleged instigator of the reportedly offensive behavior, emotional distress claims...
Dorsey’s Analysis of Changes to the Nation’s Employment Laws The advent of the Obama Administration is likely to result (and already has resulted) in sweeping changes to federal labor and employment laws and, accordingly, the relationship between employers and their employees. As we approach the 100th day of the new Administration, we have compiled a user-friendly summary guide to several...
Quirky Question # 82: I am the HR director for a mid-sized company. A number of years ago, one of our employees complained about sexual harassment from a senior executive in the Company. We investigated and found corroboration for a number of her allegations. The investigation also revealed that other employees had been mistreated by the executive. We addressed the...
Quirky Question # 68: We recently filled a position with a highly qualified applicant. After we made him an offer, he informed us that he soon would be undergoing a sex change operation. He said that when he started the job, he would be a male, but within a month or two, his operation would be complete and he would...
Quirky Question # 58: I read with interest your last question about a company’s obligation to accommodate an individual’s religious beliefs, assuming that it would not cause an undue hardship to the employer. We have a slightly different problem. One of our employee’s religious beliefs would appear to be in conflict with our anti-discrimination prohibitions. Acknowledging the changing composition of...
Quirky Question # 53: I read with interest your Quirky Question # 46, regarding the issue of whether an employer can fire an employee for having an abortion. I have a slightly different inquiry. Could we fire an employee because of her infertility treatments? I ask because we need to reduce our workforce slightly and one of the employees we...
Quirky Question # 46: We are a privately held company that runs a large software sales organization. The family that started our company and that still dominates its executive ranks has conservative values. Among those issues about which the owners feel strongly is the abortion issue. They do not believe that women should have abortions under any circumstances. One of...
Quirky Question # 32: I am an attorney in the Law Department of an advertising agency. I recently learned in a roundabout way that one of our female employees is a motorcycle enthusiast. For the last few years, she has taken time off from work to attend the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. This year, someone at work was...
Erica ChenErica is an associate in the Costa Mesa office of Dorsey & Whitney and a member of the firm’s Labor and Employ...
Jack SullivanJack is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor & Employment group, where he focuses his practice on employment adv...
Ieva AubinAs an employment and business immigration attorney, ...
Michael DrokeMike started his career as a client, not a lawyer...
Matt DurhamMatt defends employers in Utah and throughout the ...
Aaron GoldsteinAaron is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor & Employ...
Josh HughesJosh’s experience spans trial and appellate advoc...
Jillian KornblattJillian is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor & Employ...
Laura LestradeLaura began practicing at Dorsey in 1992 and has s...
Ryan MickFor more than a decade, Ryan has counseled corpo...
Nick PappasNick litigates and counsels with respect to com...
Melissa RaphanMelissa is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor and Employ...
Gabrielle WirthEmployers turn to Gabrielle for guidance on how they...
