Reason No. 20: THIS IS IT!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQAe1WRCXH0

(Can both Elvis and the Father of our Country be wrong? No way!)

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is -- TODAY.

PS - If you add a "social media ...

Reason No. 19: There's no "threat of reprisal" at this blog -- only the "promise of reward."

NOTE: Tomorrow is the last day for voting.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is ...

Reason No. 18: Today is your last chance to vote while you're "on the clock."

Sure, you can vote tomorrow or Sunday. But why, when you can do it today?

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July ...

(When I think out loud, beware.)

Ellen Kearns' discussion of last week's decision in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that employers may have to accommodate employees who use medical marijuana, got me thinking about whether we need to revisit some of our assumptions about marijuana in the ...

As anyone who's been following the news is aware, President Trump has been publicly and repeatedly indicating his displeasure with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. We are a non-partisan blog, so I'm not going to get into who's right and who's wrong about the underlying dispute. But it does seem to me that the President is trying to ...

Constangy is #1 midsize law firm for women! Law360 has ranked us number one among law firms with 150-299 attorneys. Firms were not even eligible to be ranked if they didn't have at least 49 percent female attorneys, so we are the creme de la creme. Heather Owen, proprietor of FOCUS, our women's leadership blog, has more here.

Like no business I know . . . In our latest installment of ...

Whoa.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are at cross purposes in the "gay skydiver" case.

Are they ever.

Do you remember Zarda v. Altitude Express? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently signaled that it might overrule its precedent holding that Title VII's ban on sex discrimination does not include sexual orientation ...

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued its promised Request for Information on the salary levels in the Obama Administration's overtime rule. The RFI was published in yesterday's Federal Register. Comments are being accepted through September 25.

Invoking President Trump's Executive Order 13777, the RFI focuses on the minimum salary levels that should apply to the ...

Reason No. 17: All our posts are honest -- never pretextual!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for ...

Louise Davies is an Affirmative Action Paralegal in Constangy's Winston-Salem, North Carolina, office. For more than 15 years, she has helped employers develop affirmative action plans and respond to audits and on-site investigations by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. She also conducts diversity training for employers. Louise is a graduate of Wesleyan ...

Last week, the Missouri Court of Appeals issued an opinion holding that gender identity is not covered by the prohibition on sex discrimination in the Missouri Human Rights Act. The opinion builds on a 2015 opinion from the same court, which held that sexual orientation was not covered under the MHRA.

Last week's opinion arose from a lawsuit filed by a female-to-male high school ...

Reason No. 16: Our posts are not "engaged to wait" but are always engaging!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter ...

Reason No. 15: Our posts are pervasive (in a good way), but never severe.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter ...

Reason No. 13: We don't use a $50 word when a nickel word will do.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you ...

Reason No. 14: Anonymous sources say we're great!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter presence, @RobinEShea or ...

Reason No. 12: We are "integral and indispensable" to your employment law news day!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media ...

Employers, has this ever happened to you?

A guy (we'll call him "Ryan") comes to work for you through a temporary agency. The agency issues the paychecks and generally acts as Ryan's "HR" representative. Your company pays the agency but does not directly pay Ryan.

But when Ryan comes to work, he is supervised by Michael, who is one of your employees. Michael takes Ryan under his ...

In February, President Trump issued Executive Order 13777, "Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda," which directs federal agencies to establish regulatory reform task forces to make recommendations about repealing, replacing, or modifying existing regulations that do the following:

1. eliminate jobs, or inhibit job creation;
2. are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;

Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel, President Trump's nominees to fill the two vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board, cleared another hurdle Wednesday by making it out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The HELP Committee vote was split along party lines. No date has been set for the full Senate vote, but both Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Emanuel are ...

Reason No. 11: We are prima facie awesome!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter presence, @RobinEShea or @ConstangyLaw, who are we ...

Reason No. 10: All of our posts are articulate, legitimate, and non-discriminatory!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter ...

Our tax dollars at work.

In a recent lawsuit filed in federal court in Florida, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has asserted a claim of sex discrimination against a gentlemen’s club in Florida for allegedly refusing to hire a man who applied for a bartending position. According to the complaint, Sammy’s Gentlemen’s Club informed the male applicant that it “did ...

Reason No. 9: Our employment law quizzes put you at the head of the class!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter ...

Reason No. 8: Blog ipsa loquitur. (The blog speaks for itself.)

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter ...

Reason No. 7: We keep you current on the hottest employment law issues!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter presence ...

Reason No. 6: We are not under investigation by the FBI. (Or, if we are, we don't know about it.)

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our ...

Reason No. 5: No telemarketing calls from us - ever!

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter presence, @RobinEShea or ...

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act recently celebrated its 50th birthday (it doesn't look a day over 49). This calls for an age discrimination quiz!

Question 1: What age group is protected from age discrimination under the ADEA?

A. All age groups. Discrimination based on age is never ok, whether you are young or old.

B. Ages 40 to 70.

C. Ages 40 and up, with no upper limit.

D. Ages 40 and up, unless you are an athlete or a model, in which case it's ages 30 and up.

ANSWER: C. Some states have laws that prohibit all age discrimination -- including discrimination against the young -- but the ADEA doesn't protect people under age 40.

Question 2: Which of the following could be considered "code words" for age discrimination?

A. "We're looking for someone with a high energy level."

B. "We're looking for digital natives."

C. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

D. "Have you given any thought to when you want to retire?"

E. C and D.

F. All of the above.

Reason No. 4: We have an all-star team of co-bloggers.

To wit (in alphabetical order): Ken Carlson, Cara Crotty, Louise Davies, Tommy Eden, LaLonnie Gray, Billy Hammel, Ellen Kearns, Damon Kitchen, Angelique Lyons, Bob Ortbals, Alyssa Peters, Kristine Sims, Sandra Sok, Jill Stricklin, Spring Taylor, Stephanie Underwood, Heidi Wilbur, and Jon Yarbrough. (Thanks, you guys!)

You ...

Hot diggity! The summer 2017 edition of Retailer is out! Allison Wallrapp of our Tampa Office has a fascinating feature article about the use of robots in the retail industry and how it may not be such a bad thing for human employees. In addition, we have a graphic showing the jurisdictions that currently ban private sector employers from asking for salary history, and a handy recap ...

Reason No. 3: We are not in collusion with the Russians.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us. The deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, July 30.

Thank you for your support!

PS - If you add a "social media" vote for our Twitter presence, @RobinEShea or ...

The Senate is scheduled to hold a "combined" confirmation hearing starting at 9:30 a.m. Eastern today on three Trump nominees for labor-and-employment-related positions: Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel, both of whom have been nominated to vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board, and Patrick Pizzella, who has been nominated to be Deputy Secretary of Labor. Votes by the ...

A recent study in Australia sought to determine whether “de-identifying” applications – removing any information relating to race and gender – would eliminate the effects of implicit or unconscious bias and “help promote gender equality and diversity in hiring. . . .”

Surprisingly, the study found that non-minorities and males were more likely to be hired when the ...

Reason No. 2: Where else can you find a discussion of sophisticated employment law concepts coupled with ultra-retro TV, such as the 1968 Solarcaine commercial ("Stop sunburn pain!") or Queen for a Day?

You don’t have to be a lawyer to vote. Just go to the page here and nominate Employment & Labor Insider, along with a short statement about why you like us ...

The American Bar Association has changed its contest a bit this year -- instead of the "Blawg 100," for which you've given us so much support in the past -- they're doing a "Web 100," which will include legal blogs but also websites and social media. Voting is open now through July 30, and we would really appreciate your support ...

Law360 reported this morning that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit refused to rehear the case of Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, in which two out of three judges on a panel of the court decided that Title VII did not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Here is a copy of the Court's order denying the rehearing.

According to the Law360 article, Lambda ...

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 ...

Overtime rule - what's the Trump Administration doing? Last Friday, I posted about the U.S. Department of Labor's brief in the case challenging the Obama Administration's overtime rule, which has been enjoined since November 2016. The Trump DOL position had me scratching my head because it sounded an awful lot like the Obama DOL position, and I said that we'd be hearing soon from some ...

The beginning of July conjures many images for Americans – barbecues, picnics, fireworks.  But for many employers, July also triggered preparation for the annual EEO-1 Report filing.  Until this year, covered employers were required to file their reports no later than September 30, and the data submitted had to be from any pay period in July, August, or September.

But in 2016, the Equal ...

And happy birthday, America!

I hope you all have a great holiday!

Image Credit: From flickr, Creative Commons license, by John Drake.