Five quick takes this week (and I do mean quick) because my family reunion is this weekend.

I never thought deep-frying macaroni and cheese demonstrated particularly good judgment . . .  Paula Deen needs to button her lip. Here is the National Enquirer blurb that broke the story. And here is the full transcript of her actual deposition testimony.

Should customer bullying be a component of ...

First responders in West, Texas*. Sales clerks in the stores near the finish line at the Boston Marathon. Staff of the District Attorney's office in Kaufman County, Texas. Teachers and administration at Sandy Hook Elementary. Ticket-takers and popcorn-scoopers at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

*Although the explosion at West Fertilizer Company appears to ...

Five quick ones from the harassment world, plus a "bonus track" involving our old friends Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer.

This is sexual harassment? On what planet? Employment Law360 (paid subscription required) reports that a court in California is allowing the sexual harassment claim of model Lanisha Cole from The Price Is Right to go to trial in May. According to Ms. Cole, the ...

This has not been a good week for lawyers. First, we heard about the married Minnesota lawyer who had a sexual relationship with a client (a major ethical violation in itself) and then had the nerve to bill her for his time! Whether a special billing rate applied to criminal conversation is not disclosed. Hey, by the way, which task code would this fall under?  "Appear for/Attend ...

It's a well-known fact that good-looking people have a better chance of being hired and promoted, and make more money, than less good-looking people. At least, as long as you're not too hot. Generally, there isn't much you can do about it if your opportunities are limited by male pattern baldness, that extra 25 pounds you've been meaning to lose, your acne scars from high school, or your ...

If you're an employment lawyer or Human Resources professional who handles sexual harassment cases, or a federal judge who decides them (bless your heart!), you know there are a lot of "tares" mixed in with the "wheat."

What the heck is a "tare," anyway? Besides being the weight of packaging that is excluded when one calculates net weight, it's a useless weed, presumably rye grass.

These ...

That is not a typo. Watch out for the "M" word if you don't want to be accused of harassment based on race, national origin, or color.

The "M" word is "monkey."

Now me, if I were to associate a human being with "monkey," it would be the white guy Joe E. Brown. And who can forget all the monkey-related grief poor, white George W. Bush got? However, the term "monkey" is included on Wikipedia's list of ...

Wow! This story has it all.

Bullying!

Chick-fil-A!

Social media!

Was this guy's YouTube post "protected concerted activity"? You decide.

Adam Smith (no relation to that "invisible hand" guy), chief financial officer of biotech company Vante, went to a drive-through at a Tucson Chick-fil-A on Wednesday morning, ordered a free water, confronted the drive-through girl* about ...

Here's a strange little case for ya . . .

A loss prevention manager for a major retail store chain -- we'll call her "Loretta" -- had some performance issues in the past but was only five days away from the satisfactory completion of a performance improvement plan. She and a male loss prevention partner were called to investigate a sexual harassment complaint. During the investigation ...

Ah, February! The month of love! Of course, if you're a lawyer, you see the worst of humanity and never get to hear about true, faithful, honorable, self-sacrificial love -- sexual harassment is as close to "love" as we ever get. (See, you thought lawyers were just jerks - now you feel sorry for us!)

So, in honor of St. Valentine's Day, this is the best I can do. Here are two recent sexual ...