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 ...

Even an air-tight case of sexual harassment can be sabotaged if (1) the employer has a policy banning it and an effective mechanism for handling complaints, and (2) the victim refuses to cooperate in the investigation.

Rhonda Simpson was hired to work at a Big Lots store somewhere in Alabama, after a manager saw her at a fast food restaurant and thought she looked like Farrah Fawcett. She ...

Thanks very much to Colin O'Keefe of LXBN-TV for interviewing me yesterday on the EEOC v. Ford Motor Company case that I posted about last Friday. This is the case in which a panel of the Sixth Circuit said that Ford had to offer telecommuting to an employee as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I was not quite on board with the court's decision ...

UPDATE (Sept. 3, 2014) - Law360 reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has agreed to rehear this case en banc (in other words, by all of the judges of the Sixth Circuit instead of just a three-judge panel). This will be a decision to watch, and we'll keep you informed.

As fellow employment law blogger Jon Hyman pointed out earlier this week, a court has come out with an ...

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 ...

In August, I posted about a court decision under the Americans with Disabilities Act involving a county social services employee who had an alleged sensitivity to Bath and Body Works's Japanese Cherry Blossom scent. I noted that the court decision, which allowed the case to go forward, was based only on the allegations in the plaintiff's lawsuit and the initial response of the county ...

Woody Allen once said, "80 percent of success is showing up." So true, so true!

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit* came out recently with a great decision on when "showing up" -- also known as "attendance" -- is an essential function of the job, and when an employer can terminate an employee for poor attendance even if the absences are caused by a "disability" within the ...

DISCLAIMER: Today's post has absolutely nothing to do with Veterans Day. But thank you, veterans!

Last week, I was pretty hard on Herman Cain and his response to allegations of sexual harassment. Since then, two women have come forward publicly, and all I can do is quote from my partner John Doyle:

*shrugs shoulders and sighs* "Well, you don't get your witnesses from Central Casting."