The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued last week a proposed Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues that would update guidance issued in 1998. If you're an in-house attorney or a Human Resources professional, I recommend that you read the whole thing. But to keep things digestible on this blog, I'm going to do a series of posts (three in all, I think, but I ...

Our inaugural edition of Class Action Outlook, a quarterly publication for employers on class and collective action litigation, is out, and you will not want to miss it! In order of appearance, we have Naveen Kabir on the Tyson Foods overtime collective action pending at the Supreme Court, Kate Scarbrough on the Supreme Court's recent Gomez decision, Heidi Wilbur on the Spokeo class ...

You may remember that I stirred up some contentiousness a few weeks ago when I suggested that employers should not challenge unemployment claims except in the worst cases. So I hate to bring it up again (not really -- I like debates in the comments!), but I received a very good question from an attorney reader a while ago, and he gave me permission to run his question here.

Ms. Shea,

I ...

I'd like to thank Sarah Phaff of our Macon, Georgia, office, who wrote this post with me.

As one who presumably has no nude selfies, you may not be too concerned about a “hack” like the one that continues to afflict celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of technology issues that an employer should look out for. Are you ...

You all know that I love telecommuting, although it works better in some instances than in others.

Before any employer starts a telecommuting program, it should ask itself three questions:

1) Does the job lend itself to a telecommuting arrangement? (You can't very well assemble Cadillac Escalades from your home office, now can you?)

2) Is the employee's home worksite conducive to work ...

Many, many years ago, as an associate, I got to help defend the worst harassment investigation of my career. The entire investigation went essentially like this: MANAGER: "Lucy [not her real name] says you sexually harassed her. Is that true?" ACCUSED: "I ain't crazy." *End of investigation.* Oh. Except that the manager documented it, too. *Head slap* .

 In this manager's defense, he was ...

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.

Constangy came out Friday (the 13th! for good luck!) with a new, free iPhone app that is intended for Human Resources professionals and attorneys, and is really nice. (Android version will be coming soon.) If you haven't already downloaded it, you should.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am completely biased. I was a member of the committee that decided what would go into the app, and some of the content ...

We're already into the seventh day of Chanaukkah, and Christmas is only eight short shopping days away ("I've gotta get that football helmet!"), so it must be time for a post on how employers should handle the holidays in the workplace.

Suzanne Lucas of The Evil HR Lady has a depressing-but-funny post about the lamest employee Christmas gifts ever.

And, only slightly off-topic, you may ...