That’s an exaggeration. However, a recent incident involving a Rutgers University student demonstrates where social media and the Internet are taking us. College pranks at the beginning of the school year are common, particularly when freshmen are involved. These pranks have sometimes gone overboard, but with the Internet, a prank or an act of revenge can ravage  the  target.

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Employers want their employees to be creative. In most workplaces, how many time a day are employees told that? When’s the last time you went to a meeting without someone talking about creativity? We talk about creativity like it’s a cat or a dog — something that everyone can identify. But what is it? What does it mean to be creative? Although the video below doesn’t relate to the workplace, it does demonstrate what it means to be creative.

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The Family and Medical Leave Act raises legal issues that aren’t easy to address or are misunderstood. Consider the case of Harvey v. Waste Management of Illinois, No. 1:08-cv-06828, N.D. Ill. An employee had 11 points for unexcused absences. One more, and termination would occur. When he arrived at work on the day in question, he reported to two supervisor that he was sick. One of the supervisors noticed the employee was visibly ill and had trouble standing. It was decided that the employee should go home. The employee’s absence that day was considered unexcused, giving him 12 points. He was terminated.

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Most of us were taught not to cheat when we were growing up. Not in school. Not at work. Not anywhere. But when one grows up and sees that cheating makes people rich, allows them to climb the corporate ladder, gives them the edge in a deal, or flat out allows them to dupe their friends, an important question arises. Is cheating really the rule rather than the exception?

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Albert Einstein is known as one of the smartest people who ever lived. He had a few flaws, but he led a remarkable life. Sometimes, it’s difficult to imagine where the world would be if Einstein hadn’t come along. Like all extraordinary people, Einstein was aware deep down of those important things that made life worthwhile. He spoke of  ideals we  should all consider, no matter how smart we are, no matter what our jobs are.

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According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Muslim employees filed a record 803 religious discrimination charges for the year ended September 30, 2009. That’s up 20% over the year before. That exceeds the number of charges filed in the year after 9/11. There’s little doubt that these charges will set another record for the year ending September 30, 2010. The EEOC has taken this spike in Muslim-related religious discrimination charges seriously, filing several lawsuits on behalf of Muslim workers.

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Last week, I called out the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for its failure to seriously consider whether the National Football League is violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Based on a recent article in the Washington Post, no one should hold his breath until OSHA investigates the NFL. The agency is way behind with other duties it’s supposed to perform.

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I just returned from a wedding. One of our kids is getting married soon. So, vows have been on my mind lately. When an employee comes to work, there are rules and policies about what an employee will do and what an employer will do. Neither view them as vows, however. In a marriage, of course, vows can be words only. But they do make you think about an intended commitment.

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This week’s tip involved an employer’s right to control the attire worn by employees. One other point that needs to be made involves dress and religion. That necessarily raises the matter of providing a reasonable accommodation to an employee to dress differently from other employees because of religious beliefs. (See a post I did last week on a different aspect of religious accommodation.)

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Ben Folds sings about a man in an industry that was already being hit hard even before the Great Recession started. Fred Jones is a newspaper man who, after 25 years, is being laid off. It’s a beautiful, poignant song. “He’s cleared all his things and he’s put them in boxes . . . A man’s here to take him downstairs, and I’m sorry, Mr. Jones, it’s time . . . And life barrels on like a runaway train . . . You get off; someone else gets on, and I’m sorry, Mr. Jones, it’s time.” Ben Folds and the West Australia Symphony Orchestra perform this week’s HR song in the video below.

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As you’ve undoubtedly heard, about 11 years ago, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Delaware, Christine O’Donnell, admitted that she dabbled in witchcraft when she was in high school. (Here) This news has traveled all over the place and has become a political issue in the Senate race. The ensuing hubbub is significant for employers, not because of politics, but because it raises an important issue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prevents religious discrimination.

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When it was announced this week that the chairman of the Vatican Bank was under investigation for money laundering, the Vatican said it was “perplexed and astonished.” The Vatican also expressed “maximum confidence” in the chairman. Sound familiar? The Vatican was astonished when the child sex abuse scandal first broke. The Vatican expressed confidence that Catholic priests would never engage in such outrageous conduct.

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Bureaucracy is a dirty word at most workplaces. Is there a way to prevent it? Is there a way to dismantle it? Is there a way to cope with it? Is there a way to fight it? “Yes” to all of the above questions. Putting bureaucracy in its  place is a piece of cake if you know what you’re doing. How can you know what to do? Watch and listen:

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When I began this blog, I predicted that the big area of employment litigation for the future was age discrimination. Because of the sheer number of  aging baby boomers, many would be retired or discharged, arguably in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). When I made this prediction, I didn’t see the Great Recession coming.

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Friedrich Nietzsche was a 19th century German philosopher. He rubbed some people the wrong way while he was alive and still rubs some people the wrong way because of his opinions and writings on religion, morality, and a host of other subjects. He seemed to enjoy controversy. He said something that’s not only free from controversy, but meaningful in any context. It’ll make you think, and it’ll make work and life more meaningful.

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