Valentine’s Day is an appropriate time to think about how to deal effectively with workplace romances. Real-life workplaces rarely reflect movie scenarios. Consider: Mel Gibson’s character whose accidental electrocution in “What Women Want” allows him to understand the innermost thoughts of his female coworker and family members, and whose epiphany allows him to “capture” the woman of his dreams – even while plotting to have her fired; Hugh Grant’s character in “Two Weeks Notice” who…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published a thorough and usable webpage that provides interim guidance and resources for preventing exposure to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, and for learning more about the developing information on that outbreak. That page provides an overview of the ever-expanding situation, and lists numerous resources and links to information for protecting workers from occupational exposure, including instructions on protecting workers during a pandemic, should this virus become one.…

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects qualified individuals who may be perceived as having a disability, that Act does not protect individuals who may be perceived as possibly becoming disabled in the future. EEOC v. STME, LLC, 11th Cir., No. 18-11121, 9/12/19. Kimberly Lowe began working as a massage therapist at Massage Envy in Tampa, Florida in January 2012. Lowe was capable of performing her job duties, and did so in a satisfactory…

Calculating the “regular rate” of pay: Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires an employer to pay one and one-half times an employee’s “regular rate” of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. That “regular rate” includes all “remuneration for employment” and specifically includes nondiscretionary bonuses. Nondiscretionary bonuses are bonuses announced by an employer, in advance, to induce a non-exempt (typically hourly) employee to take a specific action. When such…

At-will employment generally allows employment to end – by either the employer or employee – for any reason or no reason, other than for a violation of law. In West Virginia, as in many states, the rule that an employer has an absolute right to discharge an at-will employee is further tempered by the principle that where the employer’s motivation for the discharge contravenes some “substantial public policy,” then the employer may be liable to…

Investigative Confidentiality Gets the Support of the NLRB: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reversed recent past decisions, and has held that an employer can require confidentiality from an individual employee involved in a current internal investigation. However, the NLRB only partly reversed past rulings on the issue, holding that while confidentiality can be required during an ongoing investigation, it may not be appropriate with respect to a past investigation. Apogee Retail LLC d/b/a Unique …