Not an actual tiger. Or a dog. When outside forces pose a threat to people’s livelihood, people will go to great lengths to fight back. For example, when monkeys began ravaging the crops of a farmer in Karnataka, India, the imaginitive farmer painted his dog to look like a tiger, to scare away the pesky invaders. [Photo here.] Business owners in California are taking more conventional measures to fight back againt the tyranny of…

Not an actual tiger. Or a dog. When outside forces pose a threat to people’s livelihood, people will go to great lengths to fight back. For example, when monkeys began ravaging the crops of a farmer in Karnataka, India, the imaginitive farmer painted his dog to look like a tiger, to scare away the pesky invaders. [Photo here.] Business owners in California are taking more conventional measures to fight back againt the tyranny of…

I was headed to an appointment last week when I came upon this sign. Sometimes the people who make the rules just assume the rules don’t apply to them. Or sometimes people don’t even think about the rules and whether they make sense. I was tempted to take the sign off the piano, in the interests of following the directive on the sign. But I just took a picture instead. This post is about when…

A few years back, I found myself headed to the Houston airport earlier than expected after a business trip. I decided to check my phone to see whether I could get on an earlier flight back home to Cleveland. Turns out I could — for $52,270. For coach. There was also a first class seat available. For $69,570. I declined and decided to wait the three hours for my originally scheduled departure. But for good…

This week’s post is Family Feud Style. Name Three Things That Sound Like They Would Be “Joint Employment” But Are Not: Long-haired, easy-going product tester at the local wacky tobacky dispensary Note taker at an orthopedist’s office The guy on radio ads for non-approved supplements claiming to relieve joint pain who says, really really fast, “These statements not approved or validated by the FDA.” Each of those jobs has something to do with joints, but that’s…

When Benjamin Schreiber was sentenced to life in prison for clubbing a man to death with the wooden handle of a pickaxe, he probably expected to die in prison. But then fate intervened. Or did it? In 2015, Schreiber fell severely ill in the Iowa State Penitentiary and had to be resuscitated five times. Schreiber then filed for post-conviction relief. He argued that he did, in fact, die in prison. Since he had to be…

Please join me for the 2020 Master Class on Labor Relations and Employment. We’ll be holding three sessions: New York City, Jan. 22, 2020 Los Angeles, Feb. 25, 2020 San Francisco, Feb. 27, 2020 My session this year is called Employee vs. Independent Contractor: “Who Are You?”; Explaining the Jumbled State of the Law Using Songs by The Who. I have a running list of songs I’m planning to use. Some of the titles certain to…