Employers, if you're getting advice like this from your employment lawyer, do you know what time it is? Time to get a new employment lawyer.

"Never give in on unemployment."

This is terrible advice on so many levels. First, an employee who doesn't have even the relatively minimal income provided by unemployment is going to be that much more likely to sue you -- as a matter of financial ...

Everybody knows that an employer should never, ever, ever ask an applicant about religion or disability until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. And maybe not even then. Right?

Right?

Well, mostly right. But, as a couple of EEOC lawsuits show, there may be times when you have to make an exception to this rule. (Otherwise, it would be too easy for employers to stay out of ...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been on a tear this week, suing employers right and left, and getting some "wins" including a couple of big settlements . . .

Train-wreck boss. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) vacated a summary judgment decision for a Tex-Mex restaurant franchisor that had been sued by the EEOC because ...

As promised on Monday, here is my magnum opus regarding the EEOC's new Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues. (Next week, I'll try to get back to spurious sexual harassment lawsuits against Yahoo executives and gift cards to employees who don't go to the bathroom during the work day . . . all that really important stuff.)

This past Monday, July 14, a divided ...

I presented a webinar this past Wednesday for the Clear Law Institute on the topic of pregnancy and lactation accommodation. As most of our readers know, many state and local governments are passing laws requiring that pregnant women be reasonably accommodated on the job rather than being forced to take medical leaves of absence until after the baby is born. And we are starting to see some ...

An article by Lauren Weber and Rachel Feintzeig in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal caught a lot of attention -- it was about companies that have made the decision to do without a Human Resources function.

The idea drew some positive response on Twitter:

HR stifles innovation and bogs down businesses with inefficient policies and processes. http://t.co/5cGRIwHaxR

— Mike Brice ...

If Joe tells co-worker Mary a dirty joke, Joe is probably in violation of the employer's no-harassment policy, right? And he risks being disciplined, or even fired, right?

Right.

But if Mary sues Joe for sexual harassment based on this one joke, her lawsuit will in all likelihood be thrown out of court, right?

Right.

That's because you can't sue over just any old thing, even if it's annoying ...

The American Bar Association sponsored a webinar this week on the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was noteworthy for its inclusion of EEOC commissioners Chai Feldblum (Democrat) and Victoria Lipnic (Republican).

I'm usually such a doom-and-gloomer when it comes to the amended version of the ADA. But 'tis the season to be jolly, so I have decided to be more positive (just this ...