I’ve borrowed Garrison Keillor’s sign-off from his Writer’s Almanac as a way of bidding farewell for a while. It’s hard to imagine life without blogging, but I’ll just have to get used to it. I’ve been asked to become General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources of the newly created CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries, Inc.

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According to the author of this article, as employers cut perks that cost money, they’re looking for new perks that don’t cost money. Some employers are now allowing employees to bring their  pets to work. There can be problems with such a perk, but a stressed employee will have a friend with him or her everyday to help alleviate the stress. If this becomes a significant trend, employers may decide to further cut costs by replacing employees with animals. And that’s when the Animal Employment Protection Act comes into play.

For the past two years, I’ve had a post commemorating Veterans Day. In 2008, the post gave a history of Veterans Day. In 2009, I wrote of Veterans Day in conjunction with the tragedy at Fort Hood. This year, I’m a day late because of a bit too much travel this week. It’s important every year for all of us — employers, employees, citizens — to remember the fallen and all veterans on this day.

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A Los Angeles public school teacher killed himself after the Los Angeles Times recently published the database of  “value added analysis” for all LA public school teachers on which the teacher in question didn’t fare well. The “value added analysis” uses improvements in student test scores to evaluate teacher effectiveness. The analysis is designed to replace the tenure system with a performance system. Its critics use the teacher in question as proof of its flaws. This teacher was regarded by his students and colleagues as a good teacher. He tututored students before school started and stayed with them after school if necessary.

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Ever had employees who try to push problems to a co-worker? Ever had employees who make mistakes and try to blame them on a co-worker? Ever had an employee who isn’t much of a team player? Ever had an employee who finally does the right thing? Sure , you have. In the video below, an office chair becomes the teacher with answers to these questions.

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Employers are doing more with fewer employees, which means employees are working more hours. That’s fine as long as nonexempt employees are paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. If they’re misclassified as nonexempt employees, employers will owe overtime for the extra hours being worked. That could amount to big money.

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We hear a lot today about “compromise” in the political world. We also hear about it in the employment world. Ludwig Erhard was Chancellor of West Germany in the mid-1960′s. He’s given much credit for postwar economic reform in Germany. He had to seek compromise to accomplish what he did. Though I’m not sure that American politicians have a clue about what compromise means, Erhard knew what it meant and had a way of explaining it so anyone could understand:

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At times, I have surmised that one reason women are usually the victims of sexual harassment is that most men can’t resist the power of The Man Gene. A recent case demonstrates that some men can defeat The Man Gene and even be the victims of sex harassment. In EEOC v. Prospect Airport Services, Inc., a male employee filed a harassment claim against his employer and a female co-worker.  

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For a long time, an employment decision based on pregnancy has been against the law. It violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which is part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Apparently, it’s not as well know as I thought, or employers continue to ignore the law, at least according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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I’ve been thinking about people I greatly admire. I’ve limited my thoughts to people I know. What is it about them that causes my admiration? As I compiled my list, I noticed that these people come from all walks of life. Some of them are leaders; some are not. Some are highly successful (as we normally think of success); some are not. My list contains significant diversity, however one defines diversity. So, what is it that makes them admirable to me?

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I’m not sure there’s been an employment law subject receiving as much attention in the last 12-18 months as social media. Employers have implemented policies to prevent employees from using social media to put the employer in a bad light. The National Labor Relations Board has just issued a complaint contending that such policies can be a violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

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I don’t remember exactly when I first heard Happy Trails, but I do remember that it was while watching The Roy Rogers Show. Dale Evans is often given credit for the song, though that’s not quite right. But let’s not quibble about that. Roy and Dale sang the song while the credits rolled at the end of the show. For those of us who watched a lot of Roy and Dale, this song provides a strong memory.

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Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of worker fatalities, and distracted driving increases the risk of such accidents. Texting is the distraction of all distractions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the risk of a crash for a driver who is texting is more than 23 times higher than an undistracted driver. President Obama has signed an executive order banning texting by federal employees while driving government vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued regulatory guidance prohibiting commercial vehicle drivers from texting. Now OSHA has entered the fight against texting while driving. (Here and here.)

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The workplace is a tough place to be these days. More work. Less pay. Terrifying stress. Debilitating fear. And that’s not the half of it. Conventional wisdom says that HR needs to be a source of support in days like these. Let employees know that you care about them and their plight. But conventional wisdom is being thrown out the window by some employers. Instead of showing empathy for employees, some employers are toughening them up. So they send them for toughening up training. Here’s an example of what we mean (listen carefully, since the British accent can be a little hard to pick up at first):

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As you know by now, the Republicans will be in control of the U.S. House of Representatives beginning next year, and the Democrats will retain control of the U.S. Senate, although by a much more narrow margin than has been the case for the past two years. Since Republicans are generally regarded as more employer-friendly than Democrats, most employment lawyers may say that the result of this year’s midterm election will mean no new employment legislation. That may be true but I would remind you of what many employment lawyers said after the 2008 election.

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