On the recent uproar involving a major, major employer and its recently-terminated employee:

No. 1. Is it a good idea to provide an "open forum" to employees if there are certain topics that are off limits? No. If you want to provide a forum for employees to speak up, but only "within reason," then it's a good idea to establish and communicate your limits in advance. That way, if ...

Not every obnoxious workplace behavior is unlawful harassment. To violate federal law, the harassment has to be unwelcome, based on a "protected category" (for example, sex or race), and "severe or pervasive."

But most employers aren't satisfied with banning only "illegal" behavior, and rightfully not. The law does a fairly good job of keeping us from each ...

NOTE FROM ROBIN: This is the second and final installment in a series on the law regarding patronage dismissals in public sector employment by Damon Kitchen, head of our public sector industry group.

In last week's installment, I provided an introduction to the issue of patronage dismissals in the public sector, and a discussion of the Supreme Court's Elrod (1976) and ...

NOTE FROM ROBIN: This is the first in a two-part series on the law regarding patronage dismissals in public sector employment by Damon Kitchen, head of our public sector industry group. Damon, welcome to the blog! 

It’s election season, and each year, like the dead leaves that fall from the trees, many loyal and long-term employees of vanquished incumbents face the ...

Holy Toledo! (Or should I say, Lansing?) Here is our next celebrity employment lawsuit soap opera . . .

You may have heard about the two Tea Party legislators in Michigan who were having an affair, engaged in a bizarre cover-up that failed, had to resign/were expelled, and then lost their election bids to get their seats back. It was a big deal over the summer and into the fall ...

It's been a hectic week for me (I have a trial coming up), and so here are some links to employment law blog posts and workplace news items that I hope will entertain and edify.

5 Things Your Manager Doesn't Want You to Know. By the great Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas. (Just to whet your appetite, the first is "I can't fire you.")

Can Employee Display a ...

It's been a while since we've had an employment law quiz, so let's do it! This one is on retaliation. As always, the answers will be provided after each question -- you have our "no-pressure" guarantee.

1. What is retaliation?

A. Getting even with somebody because he did something you don't like.

B. Denying somebody a reward (such as a pay raise ...

You can't fix stupid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CosD7h2703o

Homo sapiens is fired for teaching about homophones (and his sister is a known thespian rumored to have dramaturgical aspirations). A teacher at a private language school in Utah says that he was fired by the director for posting about homophones on an educational blog, which the director allegedly believed was ...

UPDATE: On Friday, January 24, 2014, the jury came back with a verdict for Courtney Love, finding that she is not liable for her tweet about Attorney Rhonda Holmes.

Can you be liable for libel based on what you tweet on Twitter?

Well, why the heck not?

You may have read that Courtney Love, widow of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, vocalist/guitarist/lyricist of Hole, and Mrs. Larry Flynt in The People ...

It has been a busy week. Muslim headscarves, tech exec's tweets get him fired, and Lady Gaga is going to trial!

UPDATE ON LADY GAGA (10/22/13): She has settled her case.

Abercrombie gets fitched, and HR doesn't always get it right. I have previously reported on the litigation against Abercrombie & Fitch and its "looks policy" which at one time did not allow head coverings, even if worn for ...