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.

The latest guidance on social media and protected concerted activity, issued last week by Lafe Solomon, Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, is for the most part an unrealistic, hair-splitting mess. ("But Robin, tell us how you really feel about it!") However, there is a somewhat happy ending that I'll talk about at the end of this post.

The first two ...

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 ...

Our friend Judy Greenwald from Business Insurance magazine reported this week that the number of EEOC charges filed in fiscal year 2011 (which ended September 30, 2011) was relatively flat, with the exception of one big category . . . retaliation.

Retaliation is essentially taking action against an employee because the employee engaged in some type of activity that is protected by law ...

UPDATE: Daniel Schwartz of Connecticut Employer Law Blog has made some excellent additions to the list below. We could go on like this all day! Check it out.

My friend and employee/plaintiff's lawyer, Lee Smith of Atlanta (who does not have a web page, and who neither blogs nor tweets!), has been corresponding with me about the words that no employee's lawyer ever wants to hear from a ...