Oh, for cryin' out loud.

Last week, a high school principal in Bangor, Maine, banned a math teacher from having a little pink Christmas holiday Hello Kitty tree in her classroom for the holidays. She says she was told it was too "religious," although I'm still trying to figure out what religion Hello Kitty is associated with.

Employers (and their lawyers) worry so much about disgruntled, lazy, poorly performing employees who never show up ("The food here is terrible -- and such small portions!")

But do you ever worry about employees who are too eager to please? If not, you should.

Legend has it that King Henry II of England, angry at his former friend Archbishop Thomas á Becket, vented, "Will no one rid me of ...

Woody Allen once said, "80 percent of success is showing up." So true, so true!

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit* came out recently with a great decision on when "showing up" -- also known as "attendance" -- is an essential function of the job, and when an employer can terminate an employee for poor attendance even if the absences are caused by a "disability" within the ...