The February Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC) is LIVE!

Another month, another awesome edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC as the hash-tagging cool kids say). Check out Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC) Freaky February Holiday Edition on Donna Ballman's blog, Screw You Guys I'm Going Home . . . and find out what this picture of a chill frog and "Laugh and Get Rich Day" have to do with one of my blog entries (admit it, you're curious).

Make the Employment Law Blog Carnival Great Again! #ELBC

January's edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival is LIVE! Check out Robin Shea's Employment Law Blog Carnival: Iowa Caucus Edition. Thanks to Robin for including Lawffice Space, and great job on this month's edition.

New Employment Law Blog Carnival #ELBC is LIVE!

The latest edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival is LIVE! Head on over to Omega HR Solutions and check out Scary and Frightening: The #ELBC Carnival for October by Mike Haberman. Thanks for hosting, Mike!

Employment Law Blog Carnival - Fetch New #EmpLaw Catchphrases

Where have I been? This is my triumphant return from some kidney stone problems that have kept me out of blogging for a couple weeks. What better way to return than by hosting this month's Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC)!

This month, I've come up with some totally fetch new catchphrases that you can work in to your employment law lingo!




Are you down with the 5-0-4?
The 5-0-4... you know, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. William Goren hits us with Does Title II of the ADA Apply to Employment? Two Views. He's definitely down with the 5-0-4!

Whooo..... WHOOOOooooo!
Imagine if every time someone brought up whistleblower claims, you just made obnoxiously loud train whistle sounds instead of using the word "whistleblower" - that would be so totally fetch. Ric Flair, show 'em how it's done. Now, practice your train whistles while you read Internal Whistleblower Complaints Raise Important Considerations on Epetein Becker Green's Financial Services Employment Law blog.

Dinged for OffCon
Yo, I heard you got dinged for offcon... which, of course means, "I understand you were disciplined for off-duty misconduct." Check out Rudner MacDonald's post, Discipline for Off-Duty Conduct (featuring a rather unfortunate parental advisory catchphrase FHRITP),

Endless Summer Policy
Michael Haberman has Will your unlimited vacation policy run afoul of the law? on the Omega HR Solutions blog. I'm sorry... did he say unlimited vacation? Heck yeah, sounds like an "endless summer policy" to me.

Is (s)he a 6-factor?
A "6-factor" is an unpaid intern, named after the 6-factor test described in Small Biz HR Blog's entry: Summer is Here, and so are the Interns. Is Your Business Ready?

'Cause Plaintiff Says So
When an employer's summary judgment motion gets denied based on nothing more than the plaintiff's own self-serving testimony. Check out a real-life example, The 6th Circuit and Overtime: Uh Oh on the Michigan Employment Law Connection.

Anti-harassment-cum-picket policy
This was an easy one for me to come up with... because I just stole it directly from Eric Meyer's post, Company ordered to re-hire an employee after his “racist, offensive, and reprehensible” speech. Read it to find out why your anti-harassment policy should address... picketing? Seriously? Seriously.

Clogged Drain
Same case as the last one, but this time from Bullard Law: The NLRB Convinces Its ALJ That The NLRA Protects Racist Picket Line Speech. The employer fired an employee for shouting comments about fried chicken and watermelon at black workers from the picket line - an NLRB ALJ reinstated him. In other words, the employer tried to flush him... but there was a "clogged drain"!

SCOTUS opinions, half off!
When the Supreme Court issues an opinion that fails to address important issues. See Supreme Court Decision Leaves Employers with Religious Accommodation Questions on Employment Essentials.

Applomodation Case
Obviously, an Applomodation case is an applicant reasonable accommodation disparate treatment claim, like the one in EEOC v. Abercrombie. I mean, duh. US Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Applicant in Abercrombie “Hijab” Case from The EmpLAWyerologist.

Stepped on the Sideline
When a party loses a case because it just barely crossed over some bright-line rule. Like when your FMLA claim gets denied because your "overnight" stay at a hospital started just after midnite and was therefore not "overnight." Donna Ballman explains it in Court Imposes FMLA Catch-22.

You gotta Fugitive that harassment!
Fugitive, you know, like the tv show and movie about the guy who won't give up until he's tracked down the one-armed man (we could also go with "You gotta Javert that harassment" if Les Mis is more your thing). Robin Shea explains, Harassment "Must-Have" No. 4: The Determination.

"I'm with the Government" Immunity
A fetch new way to claim derivative sovereign immunity! What, you've never heard of derivative sovereign immunity in employment law claims? Well, there's a good reason for that. But the issue is hitting the Supreme Court so get in on this hot new fad right away. See Fitzpatrick on Employment Law: Derivative Sovereign Immunity: Next Supreme Court Term's Bombshell?

I hope I didn't miss anyone - let me know if I excluded your submission and I'll be sure to add it, complete with its own fetch new catchphrase!

May Edition of Employment Law Blog Carnival is LIVE! #ELBC

This month, Jon Hyman hosts: Employment Law Blog Carnival: The “Wreck of the Old 97” Edition #ELBC. He went with an Old 97s theme. I was not familiar with the band. However, by pure coincidence I was listening to Rhett Miller's solo album this weekend (unbeknownst to me, he is the lead singer of the band). Good music, and good employment law blog carnival.

April Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC) is LIVE!

The latest edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC for the cool kids on Twitter) is now available: The April Showers Edition. Thanks to Ari Rosenstein at CPEhr for hosting!

March Employment Law Blog Carnival is LIVE! #ELBC

My bad... the latest edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC) went up last week and I'm just now getting to it. One of my favorite employment law bloggers, Robin Shea, hosts April Fools' Edition. The post includes a link to my blog entry The Supreme Court and the Men Who Lactate (nearly 2,000 hits to date!).

See what I did there? I promoted a link to someone else's blog entry... which has a link back to my blog. We call that "reciprocal self-promotion." It's a micro-step above my usual "shameless self-promotion."

Employment Law Blog Carnival #ELBC Hits Wage and Hour Insights

If you love the Employment Law Blog Carnival (aka #ELBC) - and who doesn't? - then great news! The January edition is now available on Wage and Hour Insights: Employment Law Blog Carnival: Awards Season Edition. Thanks to Doug Hass for hosting. Check out his rundown of the greatest hits from around the web.

December Employment Law Blog Carnival is LIVE! #ELBC

Another edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival - or #ELBC as the cool kids call it - is now available. Check out Discrimination, Contracts, & Compliance, Oh My! #ELBC is Here! by Blake McCammon on Blogging4Jobs. And yes, Lawffice Space managed to survive the no-doubt arduous screening process and made the cut.

Employment Law Blog Carnival #ELBC Rolls in to Manpower

Mark Toth from Manpower Group hosts this month's edition of the Employment Law Blog Carnival (#ELBC for the hashtagging cool kids): Blog Carnival: Halloween Edition. Check it out!

The Awesomely Bad/Awesome Employment Law Blog Carnival

My turn to host the Employment law Blog Carnival again! Or, #ELBC as the hip kids with their hashtags call it. Last time, I did a Saved by the Bell theme - SBTB is a show that is awesomely awesome, but to my dismay is sometimes labelled awesomely bad.

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.

Latest Employment Law Blog Carnival is LIVE

The latest Employment Law Blog Carnival is now available on Mahadev's Employer's Corner. This month's theme is "The Small Business Edition." Enjoy some of the best employment law content from around the web (including a post from yours truly)!

The March Employment Law Blog Carnival is Live!

This month's Employment Law Blog Carnival is up. So head on over to HR Examiner and check out ELBC Walks Into a Bar. It features the comedic stylings of Heather Bussing, and of course, some of the best employment law blog entries from around the web.

Saved by the Employment Law Blog Carnival

The Employment Law Blog Carnival is in town, and it's my turn to host. A well kept Lawffice Space secret (until now): For a brief period of time (which I'll call "high school to the present") I loved Saved by the Bell. What better way to honor this great show than to make this month's carnival the Saved by the Bell edition? In the words of Jessie Spano, "I'm so excited! I'm so excited!" (but I'm not hooked on caffeine pills - those are bad Jessie!).

Junior High

John Holmquist brings us Implicit bias? Iowa? on the Michigan Employment Law Connection. And, Randy Enochs delivers Wisconsin Law Allowing Compensatory and Punitive Damages Soon to be Repealed on the Wisconsin Employment and Labor Law blog. What do these Midwest legal issues have to do with Saved by the Bell? Easy. The junior high flashback episodes all take place at JFK junior high... in Indiana.

Bayside High School

Without explanation, Zack, Lisa, Screech, and Principal Belding all coincidentally leave Indiana, and end up at Bayside High... in California. Ari Rosenstein can tell them about California Employment Law: Ramifications of Class Action Lawsuits in 2012 on CPEhr's Small Biz HR Blog.

On HR Examiner, Heather Bussing addresses Hiring for Diversity. Of course, the Bell featured a diverse group: Slater is Latino, Lisa is African American, and if you remember the episode with "Running Zack," then you know that Zack Morris is part Native American!

On The ManpowerGroup Employment Blawg, Mark Toth gives us the Top 40 Engagement Ideas of All Time. Who doesn't love a good top 40? Like the American Top 40, hosted by Casey Kasem... one of the first guest stars to appear at Bayside (he hosted the dance contest with Screech and Lisa doing "the sprain").

Robin Shea offers us, Do you have a gender-based pay gap? If so, you'll have some explaining to do on Employment and Labor Insider. She offers some non-discriminatory explanations for the gender wage gap. No doubt, uber-feminist Jessie Spano would see things differently (after calling Slater a "Neanderthal" and/or a "sexist pig"... and then making up with him).

It's tough being unemployed. Remember when Kelly Kapowski couldn't afford a prom dress because her dad lost his job? It's not all bad news though - Zack made her their own picnic prom. And now, Bob Fitzpatrick tells us that D.C. and New Jersey prohibit discrimination against the unemployed on Fitzpatrick on Employment Law.

Eric Meyer's The Employer Handbook explains that Baseball has a new social media policy. And it may be unlawful. A baseball-Bell tie-in? No problem! Remember when Zack "converted to Judaism" for the day to miss school and attend a Dodgers game? No social media - but he was busted by traditional media when the television broadcast showed him catching a ball off of "Rabbi Strawberry's" bat!

On i-Sight Blog, Dawn Lomer reminds us that Appearance-Based Discrimination isn't Illegal. But, it's not very nice either. Remember when Wendy, an overweight classmate, purchased Zack at a date auction? Zack learned that judging people based on appearance or weight is wrong! Of course, he ended up marrying Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and we never saw Wendy again in the entire series, but I digress.

Summer at the Malibu Sands

Who doesn't love the summer episodes, when the gang got jobs at the Malibu Sands Beach Club (where Lisa's parents were members)? On the Ohio Employer's Law Blog, Jon Hyman reminds us that Despite What Some Think, Employers Do Not Set Out to Discriminate. An employer who seems like the enemy sometimes, but really has a heart of gold... if that's not Leon Carosi, I don't know what is!

Donna Ballman submitted, Are Federal Judges Hostile To Employment Plaintiffs? Report Says Yes from her blog, Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home. Don't be so hard on the judges Donna - as Zack Morris can tell you, it's a tough job. He found himself in quite a dilemma when he had to judge the Miss Liberty pageant on the Fourth of July!

The Bell is Forever

On Just Joan, Joan Ginsberg wrote The NLRB Facebook Cases – What Was Your Employment Lawyer Thinking? She explains that the NLRB social media cases are just new applications of the same old NLRA. Yes, the NLRA - much like Saved by the Bell - is timeless. So, whether your employees are engaging in protected activity on their smart phones, Zack Morris' brick phone, or Screech's futuristic robot, Kevin - respect their rights under the NLRA.

Thanks for indulging me in this nostalgic trip through employment law and Saved by the Bell!

Disclaimer: Inclusion in the carnival does not indicate endorsement of the linked material. If you submitted a link for the carnival, and do not see your entry here, that is likely my error. Please send me your submission again and (assuming it is employment-law-ish and appropriate) I will add it. Saved by the Bell title card is fair use in commentary on the show.