Employer of the month.

Are Human Resources representatives advocates for employees, or shills for the corporate bigwigs?

I suppose you've been following the story about how Amazon (1) is the worst place in the world to work, (2) no it isn't, (3) anyway, the New York Times didn't do good research and based its story on too many anecdotes

Under ordinary circumstances, we advise employees who are victims of harassment or bullying to let the bully know that the behavior is not welcome. Then, if the behavior continues, the victim should take it up the chain of command, or directly to Human Resources.

This is fine for those employees who are strong and confident enough to believe that they can do it. But some are not. Maybe ...

I hope everyone had a happy holiday season. Now that we are into the nasty, brutish and short days of January (and especially for our friends suffering through Winter Storm Hercules), I will try to warm things up with a couple of weird-but-instructive sexual harassment cases.

The weather outside is frightful, but the fire's so delightful!

Our first case involves a type of harassment ...

Five quick takes this week (and I do mean quick) because my family reunion is this weekend.

I never thought deep-frying macaroni and cheese demonstrated particularly good judgment . . .  Paula Deen needs to button her lip. Here is the National Enquirer blurb that broke the story. And here is the full transcript of her actual deposition testimony.

Should customer bullying be a component of ...

First responders in West, Texas*. Sales clerks in the stores near the finish line at the Boston Marathon. Staff of the District Attorney's office in Kaufman County, Texas. Teachers and administration at Sandy Hook Elementary. Ticket-takers and popcorn-scoopers at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

*Although the explosion at West Fertilizer Company appears to ...

That is not a typo. Watch out for the "M" word if you don't want to be accused of harassment based on race, national origin, or color.

The "M" word is "monkey."

Now me, if I were to associate a human being with "monkey," it would be the white guy Joe E. Brown. And who can forget all the monkey-related grief poor, white George W. Bush got? However, the term "monkey" is included on Wikipedia's list of ...

Wow! This story has it all.

Bullying!

Chick-fil-A!

Social media!

Was this guy's YouTube post "protected concerted activity"? You decide.

Adam Smith (no relation to that "invisible hand" guy), chief financial officer of biotech company Vante, went to a drive-through at a Tucson Chick-fil-A on Wednesday morning, ordered a free water, confronted the drive-through girl* about ...

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held a public hearing this week on leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This is a smokin' hot subject, particularly in light of the ADA Amendments Act and its regulations, which expand the ADA's coverage to a dramatically larger population, the "new," more activist EEOC under Chair ...

It's legal for me, an adult, to live on a diet of candy bars and milkshakes, but probably not  prudent. (Sounds kinda tasty, though.)

Similarly, in the employment world, what we can get away with is not necessarily what we ought to do.

Jewell Lim Esposito, at our sister blog, Employee Benefits Unplugged, reports the Supreme Court's refusal to review a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals ...