Expensive Expense Accounts

If your company has a sudden (and very public) epiphany that letting employees expense meals from strip clubs is a bad idea, you’ve already lost. Likewise, if you think that the women at your company should be invited to events based upon their perceived physical attractiveness, you’ve already lost, too. https://deadspin.com/report-under-armour-ends-longstanding-practice-of-ex-1830238082

The Spam Filter Dog Ate Your E-Mail Notice

Just as pleading that the dog ate your homework, you won’t get far with a judge by pleading that you never received an important legal notice because it must have gone to the spam folder. In Emerald Coast Utilities v. Bear Marcus Pointe, the utility ended up having to pay BMP’s legal fees not because …

Say What?

No, you cannot force your employees to only speak in English. Sure, if they need to talk to customers, or if they need to convey important safety-related information between each other, you can absolutely require that those discussions be conducted in English. But while passing time in the break room? No, you cannot force employees …

From Salaried, back to Hourly? New US-DOL Overtime rules

The US Dept of Labor’s long-anticipated changes to the overtime pay threshold still haven’t come out (could be anywhere from $47-50k, up from the current $23k). But, either way, you probably have a sizeable handful of currently salaried employees who will go back to be handled as hourly paid. Which can seem like a kick …

Supernatural and the NLRB

My daughter was indulging a t.v. marathon for the show “Supernatural”. One particular episode involved some teens reciting Latin incantations and accidentally inviting demons to their basement. What does this have to do with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)?  Plenty. Just because you don’t currently have a unionized workplace, nor do you ever expect to, doesn’t mean …

Snail Mail or Fail Mail? FMLA Notices

Those of you who handle FMLA matters know that it can be a paper-intensive undertaking. You’ve probably grown accustomed to sending Notices of Eligibility, medical certification, and Designation Notices by US postal mail. Unfortunately, not every federal district or appellate court thinks that’s good enough. In Lupyan v. Corinthian Colleges, the appellate court chided that “in this age …