Situational harassment

A liberal blogger she makes this interesting point about allegations of sexual harassment by a politician.

Separating employment (with music)

Some "I quits" are memorable, this one is up at a new level. The action starts around a minute 40.

National Economy grows to tread water state

In a mild surprise third quarter growth in the U.S. GDP reached 2.5%, almost doubling second quarter growth, according to the Commerce Department. In Louisiana job growth continues with the New Orleans area adding almost 11,000 jobs between September 2010 and September 2011. The metro area unemployment rate in September was 6.9%.

Yin and yang?

Just as the Department of Labor is about to impose onerous disclosure requirements on attorneys and consultants who advise employers concerning labor relations (previous posts here), the same DoL is easing the disclosure requirements on labor.

Ohio collective bargaining law jeopardized

This fall's election cycle has little of note (unless you think Gov. Jindal's 66% win is underwhelming against a field of under financed, under knowns). There is one contest in Ohio, however, that is worth noting. Its the attempt to undo Gov. Kasich's limits on collective bargaining rights for public employees in the state. Current polling has the repeal forces optimistic. This election is seen as a harbinger of the 2012 presidential race in a crucial state.

Career advice for Women

There is a really interesting post at Harvard Business Review entitled "Four Ways Women Stunt Their Careers Unintentionally." The post itself makes some valid points, but the comments are well worth a full read. Essentially the post says women hurt themselves by  (1) being overly modest about their accomplishments, (2) not asking for promotions (3) blending in to avoid attention, and (4) failing to speak out and express opinions. Some of the comments present an insightful rejection of the thesis of the piece. Note for example those of idea15webdesign posted 10/20/2011 06:16 AM

Steve Jobs on unions in education

Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography relates some pretty negative views Jobs had on public school unions.

"Monkeys!"

A federal district court in Mississippi has denied summary judgment on a hostile environment claim to an employer who is accused of multiple instances of racially derogatory remarks (calling black employees "monkeys"). Once would have been OK, but not several times.

Conundrum

Sometimes its hard to tell who is the player and who is getting played. An 8 year employee of Target claims his discharge was because he complained about not receiving uninterrupted breaks. Under federal wage hour laws employees who are called back to duty during a supposed break are entitled to compensation for the break which is interrupted. The federal lawsuit claims retaliation for complaints about breaks being interrupted in this manner is the real motivation for the discharge.  The irony is his discharge was ostensibly because he worked through a lunch break off the clock. Many employers have a policy preventing employees from doing just that. The basic reason for the policy is to discourage unauthorized work which may lead to overtime. If the employee works, he is entitled to compensation under the FLSA, even when the work was unauthorized and in violation of company policy. So the employer's remedy is limited to discipline for violating the policy. The employer may not refuse to pay the employee. One interesting fact in this case is the time clock prevented an employee from clocking back in within 30 minutes of clocking out. While one can understand the employers objective, this approach likely will result in the trier of fact assuming the employer's time clock does not accurately reflect time worked

Three law Profs take on Boeing

Three labor law professors have an op-ed piece in the New York Times. In defense of the NLRB they pose the question in an analogous, but simple way.

Everyone agrees that a company may legally locate its production anywhere it wishes and for any reason — except retaliatory ones. Imagine if Boeing had deliberately located a new plant in an area with a predominantly white labor force and then publicly stated that it did so because it was tired of listening to discrimination complaints made by African-American employees at its home plant. If the general counsel’s allegations are true, Boeing did something legally indistinguishable — unless labor rights no longer count as “real” rights.

The entire piece is well worth the read. Our previous posts are here. 

Birth rate declines with economy

Pew has a report out about the effect of the Great Recession on the birth rate. While Alaska and North Dakota buck the trend, every other state (map) shows a decline in birth rate since 2007. Mississippi ranks third highest decline (behind Nevada and Idaho). Clicking through to the Pew site brings you to a graph showing just how close the decline in birth rate mirrors the decline in per capita income.

FLSA retaliation claim by applicant dismissed

The Fourth Circuit, in a divided opinion, holds an applicant for employment who is denied employment  after the prospective employer learned that she had sued her former employer under the FLSA is not an employee subject to the anti-retaliation provisions of the FLSA. A strongly worded dissent by Judge King relies upon, Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., a Title VII decision in which the Supreme Court held employers who retaliate against former employees who engaged in protected activity stated a Title VII retaliation claim. In both cases the issue was whether the statute extended protection in a context where the adverse action was taken against a non-employee. Given the Supreme Court's handling of recent retaliation cases, I think this one might get a look-see.

NBA cancels games

The National Basketball Association lockout continues. NBA Commissioner David Stern has announced the cancellation of the first two weeks of games. With no apparent progress being made the entire basketball season is in jeopardy. The NBA is not the NFL (which was smart enough to compromise without costing any regular season games). The NBA likely will take a huge hit from its decision to lock out players. Fewer people will care both short term and long term as this columnist notes.

Down and down more

One reason consumers feel so pessimistic may be that income levels have declined more since the recession ended than during the period of recession. This from a study by two former census officials

During the recession, real median annual household income fell by 3.2 percent, from $55,309 in December 2007 to $53,518 in June 2009. During the economic recovery, real median annual household income fell by an additional 6.7 percent, from $53,518 in June 2009 to $49,909 in June 2011.

NLRB R.I.P.?

A Georgia congressman wants to eliminate the National Labor Relations Board specifically because the Congressman does not like the fact that the Board may find Boeing violated the NLRA. The bill would shift enforcement of unfair labor practice violations to the Justice Department, and processing of representation matters to the Department of Labor. Perhaps this will be a 2012 campaign issue.

Same sex harassment and gender stereotyping

A new district court opinion out of Mississippi, Moore v. USG Corp., holds, in a same sex harassment context, the Fifth Circuit does not recognize a gender stereotyping theory of liability. The Court limits same sex harassment claims to three recognized models of proof (provided in the Supreme Court's Oncale decision). More after the jump (graphic facts)

Law firm as employer

Even law firms can be sued for discrimination.

Slim job growth in September

Private sector employers added a meager 137,000 jobs in September, while the public sector continues to shed jobs according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent while the underemployment rate inched up to 16.5% (from 16.2%). Both the July and AUgust estimates were revised upward, but only slightly.

NLRB Notice Requirement Delayed

The NLRB has postponed until January 31, 2012 the effective date of the new rule requiring employers to post the Notice of NLRA rights. The reason for the delay: "to allow for enhanced education and outreach to employers . . . ."

Buffett on job creation and taxes

Warren Buffett on taxes and job creation:

"I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation."

Seems that as long as the discussion is diverted by illogical assumptions, the problem will continue.