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 other's ...

Last week, we talked about employment investigations. This week, I'd like to talk about what employers do with the information they gathered during the investigation. There are two main tasks:

No. 1: Figure out what probably happened.

No. 2: Decide what action to take based on No. 1.

It's almost impossible to generalize about No. 1 because the results will vary wildly based on ...

An article in Monday's New York Post discussed misunderstandings that can arise in the workplace based on use of "chat" apps and their associated emoji. A woman interviewed for the article said that she had messaged her co-workers that she would be late for a meeting, and her boss replied with emoji of a "poop" (am I allowed to use that word on this blog?) and a clock.

She was like, what?

DEAR READERS: Before you accuse me of legal malpractice, take a look at tomorrow's date.  

Habit 1: Discriminate, retaliate, harass -- have a ball! There's a new sheriff in town, with a more employer-friendly, compliance-assistance-oriented U.S. Department of Labor (we think) and the nullification of burdensome regulations like the gone-and-not-lamented Fair Pay and Safe ...

A "print and save" for California employers, to be sure. Richard Bromley and Aaron Rutschman of our Los Angeles-Century City Office have a comprehensive guide to the Golden State's often-confusing laws on paid meal and rest breaks. If you have operations in California, you need to read this and keep a copy for future reference.

The March 2017 edition of ConstangyTV's Close-Up on ...

Remember the Garbage Pail Kids from the '80s? I have had an inspiration that will make my fortune! I'm going to create a set of collectible "HR Horribles"™ trading cards, representing the employees who make Human Resources professionals' lives a living heck.

Here is my first set:

Randy Romeo. Romeo has never met a woman he didn't like, especially if she reports to him, because ...

How can an employer best prevent workplace harassment from occurring, and deal with it effectively when it occurs? What would the EEOC say employers should do?

This is my third and final installment on the proposed Enforcement Guidance on Unlawful Harassment, which was recently issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC is accepting comments until ...

Last week, I shared with you what I didn't like about the proposed Enforcement Guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on workplace harassment.

Well, this is warm-and-fuzzy week. Moving on to the parts of the proposed guidance that I thought were well done, I've tried to boil the rest of the proposed guidance into nine key points. I'll do one more post next week ...

This week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a proposed Enforcement Guidance on workplace harassment. It's 75 pages long, so a little too much to cover in a single blog post. The EEOC is seeking comments from the public until February 9, so I will start with the comment-worthy provisions. Next week, I'll post about the proposed Guidance more generally. Overall, the ...

I'm a week late with this follow-up. (Sorry.)

Two weeks ago, I posted about an employee (fictionally named "Zoey") who had a peanut allergy. After she asked a peanut-butter-loving co-worker ("Addison") to be considerate, Zoey found a big glob of peanut butter smeared under her desk, which caused her to get sick. Addison denied being responsible.

To recap from last time:

*I said I ...