Do you think you have that employee termination all buttoned up, and no one will be able to challenge you? Defending that EEOC charge will be a slam dunk? No plaintiff's lawyer in his right mind would represent your soon-to-be-ex employee?

Are you sure about that? Can we talk?

Don't commit these five firing faux pas*.**

*This is not an all-inclusive list. There are probably more than five.

Employees who sue their employers and then settle -- can we talk?

Sometimes it's good to know what "the enemy" thinks. And, in relation to you, I am "the enemy" because I represent employers exclusively. However, some of my best friends are employees, and even though I'm on the other side, I hate to see employees shoot themselves in the feet. Especially when it's so easy to avoid doing so.

Dear Jackie,

How ya doin'? I'm not too bad . . . just keepin' my nose to the grindstone at work and enjoyin' the spring weather, and not a whole lot else . . . same old, same old.

Listen, hon. I know it's been a while since we've been in touch, but when I saw your new "Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil ...

What a year, am I right or am I right? Here is a catalog of the major employment and labor law developments from 2011. And, just to keep it entertaining, I've started off each month with a weird but true off-topic story that was in the news that month. Many thanks to Drudge Report archives for the strange stuff. Thanks also to Esquire magazine's annual Dubious Achievement Awards (sadly ...