The Reason You Can’t Break Rules
A highly sought-after position opened up. The manager over the position was new to managing and insisted that the...
Author: Evil HR Lady
Mental Health Awareness Month: How HR Leaders Can Support Employee Wellbeing and Compliance
Mental Health Awareness Month is a pivotal time for organizations to underscore the importance of mental wellbeing in the...
Can an Employee Sue for Failure to Accommodate a Disability She Said She Didn’t Have?
An employee who says “I’m not disabled” can’t turn around and sue for failure to accommodate a disability. The Sixth Circuit just confirmed that’s true even when the employer is the one who raised the disability question in the first place. TL;DR: An employee with a history of transient ischemic
Did Interviewers Say the Quiet Parts Out Loud? The EEO-1 Data May Have Confirmed the Rest.
According to the EEOC, a waste management company hadn’t hired a female garbage truck driver in years, and its interviews showed why: a manager told one qualified female applicant to think carefully, talk to her husband, and let him know if she still wanted the job. She did. The company
Your Digital Twin Wants to Review You with Kevin Oakes
AI is forcing a question many leaders would rather avoid: are we improving work — or quietly deleting it?In...
Two Men Broke a Barrier No Human Had Ever Broken. Neither Did It Alone.
O ne hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds. That’s the winning time for Sunday’s London Marathon winner, Sebastian Sawe, who...
If Free Help Was Available and You Turned It Down, Can You Still Claim Undue Hardship?
A blind customer care advocate asked for screen reading software. According to the EEOC, his employer tested two products, decided the software wasn’t compatible, turned down a free offer from a state agency to help, and terminated him. That sequence cost $270,000. This week is EEOC Settlement Week on The
DEAMcon26 Day 1 Recap: 25 Years, One Room, and a Regulatory Landscape That Isn’t Waiting for Anyone
The post DEAMcon26 Day 1 Recap: 25 Years, One Room, and a Regulatory Landscape That Isn’t Waiting for Anyone appeared
What the ADA Requires When a Drug Test Flags a Legally Prescribed Medication
According to the EEOC, the company’s own doctors cleared two employees as fit for duty. The employer allegedly refused to let them return anyway, unless they switched the medications treating their disabilities. That decision cost $300,000. This week is EEOC Settlement Week on The Employer Handbook: one recent EEOC settlement
The Shift From Reactive to Proactive Mental Health at Work with Stephen Sokoler
Most companies don’t think about employee mental health until something goes wrong and by then, it’s already too late....
What Does the ADA Require Before You Pull a Telework Accommodation You Already Approved?
The employer granted a dispatcher’s telework accommodation, watched her work successfully from home for nearly three years, then yanked it without ever talking to her according to the EEOC. That sequence cost $280,000. This week is EEOC Settlement Week on The Employer Handbook: one recent EEOC settlement per day, with
Ep160: You Can Pump… If We’re Staffed
Send us Fan Mail When a medical facility told a new mother that she could take a couple of...
Updating Job Descriptions for Compliance and Pay Transparency: A Strategic Approach for 2026
In the ever-evolving HR landscape, updating job descriptions is no longer just an administrative task. Today, it serves as...
Why The Rules Exist
“Do you have any rules in your house?” I asked this question of the three-year-olds I teach in my...
Can a $2 Billion Company Claim a $1,700 Accommodation Is Too Expensive?
According to the EEOC, a $2 billion company said it couldn’t afford $1,700 hearing protection for an employee losing her hearing on the job. A federal lawsuit and a $100,000 settlement later, that calculus looks different. This week is EEOC Settlement Week on The Employer Handbook: one recent EEOC settlement
Who’s Responsible If Your Benefits Vendor Drops the Ball on ADA Leave?
She showed up to work one morning, scanned her badge, and nothing happened. That’s allegedly how a 10-year employee learned she’d been fired while undergoing chemotherapy. TL;DR: The EEOC sued a turkey processing employer, alleging it violated the ADA by refusing to accommodate an employee undergoing breast cancer treatment and then