Whoa.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania held this week that U.S. Steel had the right under the Americans with Disabilities Act to conduct random alcohol tests on probationary employees at a coke plant, granting summary judgment to the company in a class action that had been filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The court found, in a "case of first impression,"* that the ...

We're having a PRESIDENT'S DAY SALE on people who share too much on the Internet! We are overstocked!

Everything must go, go, go!

"By George! I do not need to know every minute detail of thy life, people! I have a country to father!"

"TMFI"* is not only incredibly annoying, but it's also putting people's jobs in jeopardy.

*Too Much Flippin' Information.

Before I continue, please know that I ...

YIKES! Lady Gaga: Wage-and-hour lawyer's nightmare!

Lady Gaga has been sued for unpaid overtime by her former personal assistant, Jennifer O'Neill. (No relation to the beautiful star of Summer of '42.) Ms. O'Neill, who has claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and New York state wage and hour law, says that she was at Ms. Gaga's beck and call 24/7 for about 15 months but was ...

The U.S. Department of Labor yesterday issued its Final Rule on the Family and Medical Leave Act. This will replace the rule issued by the Bush Administration that became effective in 2009 and is primarily intended to address amendments to the FMLA that were enacted by Congress after the the 2009 rule took effect. However, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the newest version, issued ...

"There's no such thing as work-life balance." -- Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook.

I get the feeling that Sheryl Sandberg is a little conflicted. (Aren't we all!) She's written a book, coming out next month, entitled Lean In, which reportedly is a "call to action" to women to rise to the top of corporate ranks.

Among other things, Sandberg recommends marrying a ...

By David Phippen, Fairfax Office

UPDATE: David's client bulletin analyzing the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning decision is available here.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down today the "recess appointments" of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin to the National Labor Relations Board. Without Members Block and Griffin, most of the Board decisions ...

Employers, has this ever happened to you?

An employee in a critical-but-inflexible position -- say, a customer service representative -- asks for "intermittent" leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. If the intermittent time off is "scheduled," it's usually not too big a problem. Most employers can manage to work around a situation if they know what to expect. They may be able to ...

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."

This has not been a good week for lawyers. First, we heard about the married Minnesota lawyer who had a sexual relationship with a client (a major ethical violation in itself) and then had the nerve to bill her for his time! Whether a special billing rate applied to criminal conversation is not disclosed. Hey, by the way, which task code would this fall under?  "Appear for/Attend ...

Following up on my post on the subject, I had the chance to talk with Colin O'Keefe of LXBN regarding the recent "veganism as religion" case of Chenzira v. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In the brief interview I explain the background of the case and offer my thoughts on whether or not the plaintiff's veganism must be religious in nature for her claim to stand.  Colin, thank ...