This time around, I play judge and jury as we tour pop culture past and present, including some guilty and some not-so-guilty, pleasures as I declare - Awesomely Bad? Or Awesomely Awesome? Feel free to play along in the comments!
Jon Hyman at Ohio Employer's Law Blog schools us on the difference between alcoholism and drunk under the ADA - about a guy who cracked a bottle of whiskey and downed the whole thing over lunch. Crack a Bottle seems apt. VERDICT: Eminem, 50 Cent, and Dr. Dre? This should be awesomely awesome . . . except it's not. It's catchy, but corny. Awesomely Bad.
Ari Rosenstein at Small Biz HR Blog has the scoop on California's new mandatory sick leave law. I haven't been in high school since... well, it's been a while. But when I think of sick leave, my mind still jumps straight to Ferris Buehller's Day Off. VERDICT: C'mon, is this even a question? Ferris Bueller is definitely Awesomely SUPER-Awesome.
Bob Fitzpatrick hits us with FLSA Pleading - Your Way, My Way and the "Middle" Way. Sure, I could go classic with Sinatra's My Way - but for our purposes, let's go with Lenny Kravitz and Are You Gonna Go My Way. I play guitar (albeit badly), so I'll give him credit for an awesomely awesome guitar riff, but . . . VERDICT: Sorry Lenny, the song gets old quick: Awesomely Bad.
Dan Schwartz of Connecticut Employment Law Blog coaches us on the risks of fantasy football at work. There's certainly no shortage of football and pop culture tie-ins, but let's go with The Waterboy. VERDICT: Full disclosure, I spent several years of my life with more than one Adam Sandler poster on my wall. That said, Waterboy was a little too stupid, even by Sandler's standards - Awesomely Bad (probably no shortage of people arguing it's just plain bad).
Donna Ballman of Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home, examines some state-by-state laws in Crackdown on Misclassification. Crackdown? Sounds like it's a shakedown . . . breakdown . . . you're busted. Don't pretend like you don't know that song from Beverly Hills Cop II. Verdict: BHC 1? Totally awesome. BHC 2 and that song? Fun, but awesomely bad.
From Randy Enochs at Wisconsin Employment and Labor law Blog, Seventh Circuit holds that an FMLA plaintiff does not need to call an expert witness to establish a serious health condition. Am I really gonna play off of "call" to jump straight to Ghostbusters (who you gonna call?)? I just did. VERDICT: Awesomely awesome! An all-time classic. Ghostbusters 2? Well, that's a little more awesomely bad . . . or just bad.
Lorene Schaefer at Win-Win HR has millenials battling harassment in social media. Millenials are the all-time rulers of awesomely bad! Sure, my generation had Backstreet Boys, and before that New Kids on the Block. But now? Bieber? Miley? Nicki Minaj? VERDICT: Millenial music is awesomely Bad Bad Bad.
Lindsay Bouffard at Employment Essentials shares a post on micro-bargaining units. I'm probably testing your collective memories here . . . but remember the fast-talking MicroMachines Man? VERDICT: As a kid, I loved that guy! As an adult? I *still* love that guy! Awesomely awesome!
The founder of ELBC, Eric Meyer of The Employer Handbook, has How to curse out your boss on Facebook . . . and get away with it! Flagrantly calling out management and getting away with it? C'mon, you know where this is going: Office Space! And you know the VERDICT has got to be Awesomely one-of-the-greatest-movies-of-all-time Awesome!
Michael Haberman at Omega HR Solutions asks, Is judging someone's grammar a good hiring test? Thanks to Weird Al Yankovic, a grammar and pop culture tie-in is an easy one: Word Crimes. VERDICT: From old school, like Eat It and Amish Paradise to new school Word Crimes - Weird Al can do no wrong in my book. Awesomely Awesome.
Sharlyn Lauby at HR Bartender has Why Job References are Important? featuring a picture of a movie marquee for "Fear Theater." No horror franchise has spanned more time and pop culture than Friday the 13th. VERDICT: Maybe . . . MAYBE . . . you can make a case for Part I being awesomely awesome. But c'mon, these movies take campy to a whole new level. Awesomely bad.
Doug Hass at Wage and Hour Insights shares The "Winner" and other losers: What winning that wage and hour suit might get you. What can I say? I went to high school in the 90s. I hear "loser" and Beck is stuck in my head all day. VERDICT: I prefer Where It's At . . . but Loser is still Awesomely Awesome in my book (get crazy with the Cheez Whiz).
Janette Levey Frisch, The Employerologist,has Sexual Harassment Complaints Don’t Go Away When You Ignore Them–Ask Wal-Mart! You know who doesn't go away when you ignore him? Bob. As in What About Bob? VERDICT: A little corny? Sure. But Bill Murray can do no wrong - this movie is Awesomely Awesome.
John Holmquist at Michigan Employment Law Connection has Loyalty: Extinct Under the NLRA? If it is extinct, I hope they saved its DNA so one day we can clone it and make a loyalty-themed amusement park . . . just like, Jurassic Park! VERDICT: I'll probably catch some flack for this - but Jurassic Park was Awesomely Bad in my book. It felt a little too much like "look! There are dinosaurs on the screen!" without enough actual plot.
We had a few classification posts. Like Stuart Rudner of Rudner MacDonald with Calling an employee an “independent contractor” exposes both parties to liability, and Monique Warren of Benefits Law Advisor on Afffordable Care Act classification issues - How can I finish this post without working in the scene from Clerks where they discuss the independent contractors on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi? VERDICT on Clerks: Production level low, but awesome level high - Awesomely Awesome.
Jackson Lewis warns retailers to be ready when OSHA walks into a store or warehouse. After all these years, I still associate warehouses with Raiders of the Lost Ark. VERDICT: I'm not sure that movie is as awesome as I thought it was when I was a kid - but it's still a classic. Awesomely awesome.
Last but not least - Joseph Lazzarotti at Benefits Law Advisor has Look Beyond the ACA Wellness Regulations When Designing Your Program, EEOC Sues Employer Over Its Program. You know who looks like she could use a wellness program? Big Momma from Big Momma's House - but looks can be deceiving (spoiler alert: it's Martin Lawrence in disguise).VERDICT: Not gonna lie - I've never seen it. I still feel pretty safe calling it Awesomely Bad.
Disagree? Drop a comment!
Note: I tried to include all submissions - if you submitted something and do not see it here, let me know.
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