Quirky Questions

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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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Biometric Attendance Scanner or “Mark of the Beast”?: How an Employee’s Unusual Religious Belief Cost the Employer $600,000.

Biometric Attendance Scanner or “Mark of the Beast”?: How an Employee’s Unusual Religious Belief Cost the Employer $600,000.

 

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A recent case from the Fourth Circuit illustrates the risks for employers posed by the obligation to reasonably accommodate religious objections to workplace rules and practices under Title VII.  How should an employer handle accommodation requests based on religious beliefs that the employer views as misguided or even crazy?  A sincere religious belief, even if non-traditional or highly idiosyncratic, must...

POSTED IN Religious Discrimination
Second Circuit Holds Pro-Union Sentiment Outweighs Impropriety of Profanity-Laden Rant Against Supervisor, His Mother, and “His Entire ****ing Family”

Second Circuit Holds Pro-Union Sentiment Outweighs Impropriety of Profanity-Laden Rant Against Supervisor, His Mother, and “His Entire ****ing Family”

 

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Use of profanity by employees, whether in the workplace, outside the workplace, or on social media, presents difficult legal issues for the employer, as highlighted by a recent Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning the firing of an employee who engaged in a highly profane Facebook rant against a supervisor. Although an employer has a justifiable interest in keeping...

POSTED IN Labor Law, Retaliation, Social Media
Court Halts DOL Rule Set To Extend Overtime To Millions on December 1

Court Halts DOL Rule Set To Extend Overtime To Millions on December 1

 

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In an unexpected decision, on Tuesday, November 22nd, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL’s”) controversial final Rule expanding overtime eligibility for millions of workers, which was set to take effect on December 1st. The DOL’s new Rule, issued on May 18, 2016, nearly...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: General, Wage and Hour Issues
A Matter of Protocol — Rules for Departing Brokers Trying to Solicit Former Clients

A Matter of Protocol — Rules for Departing Brokers Trying to Solicit Former Clients

 

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Question:  We operate a financial services firm that employs account executives who execute investment trades on behalf of clients.  One of our brokers recently resigned to move to a competitor firm.  With his resignation letter, he included a list of clients he plans to solicit at his new firm.  This list includes clients with whom the broker may have had...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Common Law Claims, Post-Employment Restrictive Covenants
Quirky Question #288: Zika in the Workplace?

Quirky Question #288: Zika in the Workplace?

 

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Question: We have been flooded with coverage of Zika, from the Rio Olympics to the recent travel restrictions in Miami As an employer, I want to be prepared and proactive to protect my employees, but I am also concerned about overreacting. I understand there are many reported cases of Zika, but only six cases where the individual actually became infected with...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), General, Leave Issues
Quirky Question #287: “Cat’s Paw” Claims – How could an employer violate antidiscrimination laws, even though the decision-making manager has no discriminatory bias at all?

Quirky Question #287: “Cat’s Paw” Claims – How could an employer violate antidiscrimination laws, even though the decision-making manager has no discriminatory bias at all?

 

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Question: We just went through a five-person layoff, and one of the individuals laid off (an African American) has hired a lawyer and is threatening to sue for racial discrimination. I have enormous confidence in the fairness of the individual manager making the layoff selections, and those selections were based on years of performance ratings.  However, the lawyer hired by our...

POSTED IN Discipline and Discharge, Litigation Issues
Quirky Question #286: Best Practices on Restroom Access and Terminology for Transgender Employees

Quirky Question #286: Best Practices on Restroom Access and Terminology for Transgender Employees

 

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Question: There has been a lot of news coverage lately on restroom policies related to transgender employees.  Can you provide some guidance on how to structure our restroom-use policies to be both lawful and respectful of all employees?  More generally, can you help me understand the appropriate, respectful terminology in this area?  I certainly don’t want to offend anyone on purpose,...

POSTED IN Privacy Rights, Sex Discrimination
Quirky Question #285: Potholes on the Ethical “High Road”

Quirky Question #285: Potholes on the Ethical “High Road”

 

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Question:  We learned that some of our employees may have been engaging in unethical, and perhaps even illegal, behavior.  We don’t tolerate this, so we hired a law firm to conduct an investigation, and based on the results of that investigation, we terminated the employees.  The terminated employees were high-profile employees, and we told some people why they were fired. ...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Banking Industry Group, Defamation, Investigations, Litigation Issues
Quirky Question #284: If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, can you still unlawfully retaliate against it?

Quirky Question #284: If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, can you still unlawfully retaliate against it?

 

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Question: One of our male supervisors wants to fire a female employee who complained that he was sexually harassing her. The harassment allegations appear to have some substance: he asked her for pictures of herself in a bikini; told her to “stay off [her] knees,” which she viewed as sexual innuendo; and told her that her regulation length shorts were...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Discipline and Discharge, Litigation Issues, Retaliation, Sexual Harassment