UPDATED 9/13/11 (see below):

And, more importantly, what is it with The Price Is Right? It's a regular Peyton Place, for cryin' out loud.

Everyone is probably familiar with the sexual harassment allegations from a few years ago against game-show icon and former TPIR host Bob Barker. Barker wisely admitted to a consensual affair, and the harassment case went away.

Now another ex-TPIR ...

Over the next 8 business days, I'll have a series of short posts addressing common questions that employers have about the law. If there is an "FAQ" that you would like for me to address, please let me know in the comments box.

I may also have more in-depth postings as circumstances warrant.

Employer FAQ No. 4: Should I offer harassment training to rank-and-file employees? Isn't that just ...

Earlier this summer, in writing about reference information for bad employees (I call them "the Axis of Evil"), I mentioned employment investigations, noting that this was a topic for another post. Well, today is the day. Now that the Supreme Court has officially recognized "cat's paw" liability for employers whose decisions are tainted by an individual with an unlawful motive, it ...

"It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others."

A politico and a priest in the news this week have much to teach men* who are accused of sexual harassment. Former head of the International Monetary Fund and French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn may not be guilty of sexual assault, after all. Meanwhile, a popular TV priest has put his foot in it ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming) recently affirmed the dismissal of a race discrimination lawsuit against a union whose hiring hall refused to refer the plaintiff for laborer positions. Essentially, the Court said that the union was justified because the plaintiff had three no-rehire letters in his file from ...

Between "Weinergate," the indictment of John Edwards, and the relatively old news about Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is obvious that issues related to sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment, are not going away. How can you, as an employer, know when a sexual harassment case is a "dog"? Here are five signs that you might want to answer "yes, please, and ...

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everybody! Top stories this week:

When are employers liable for the bad behavior of their customers? The sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, who allegedly attacked an African-immigrant maid in his hotel room in New York City, have spurred some interesting discussion about female ...

My internet friend and worthy adversary Donna Ballman, an employment lawyer who represents plaintiffs, had a good and sad post this week on AOL this week entitled "Nine Signs of Age Discrimination." The comments were especially depressing, from a number of people who said that they'd experienced age discrimination either in losing their jobs, or in their attempts to find jobs.

I've ...

This February ("Valentine's Month"), there was a lot in the news about "workplace spouses." Last week, I was interviewed about this by Denis and Shelli of WSBT radio in South Bend, Indiana.

My own opinion is that the "workplace spouse" phenomenon is an overhyped way to put a new spin on the very old problem of sexual attraction in the workplace. (Sexual harassment and workplace dating ...

Latest dispatches from the employment law front:

If you're going to be an SOB, make sure you're an SOB to everybody. A federal district court in Kentucky granted summary judgment to the employer in a sexual harassment case. The female plaintiffs alleged that a charlatan "turnaround specialist" hired by their CEO was not "motivated by sexual desire" but was simply abusive and ...