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What I've Been Reading This Week


Some of you may have read the Fifty Shades of Grey book or went to see the movie the past few weeks.  I came across a rather timely article on the topic that I wanted to lead this "What I've Been Reading This Week" post with.  I do want to suggest that employers be mindful that allowing employees to openly discuss this book and/or movie is a potential hostile work environment claim waiting to happen...

As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week.


Fifty Shades of Grey & the Workplace

Suzanne Lucas has a good article on how the new Fifty Shades of Grey movie can lead to a sexual harassment lawsuit and what employers can do to head off the issue.  For those who do not know, there are some rather "suggestive" parts of the book that may be appropriate for a book club discussion, but not fit for the workplace.  Suzanne included a few ideas on what employers can do to limit potential liability when this topic is brought up in the workplace by other employees.


The Brian Williams Situation: A Lesson For Employers

Joe Lustig writes several good blogs each week that I enjoy reading through when I have a few spare minutes.  This week was no exception.  He has a good note on what employers can learn from this situation; namely to document important conversations and incidents immediately after they happen, rather than trying to remember the details after the fact.  This one is definitely worth a read for employers. 


Denying Employment for Falsifying a Job Application?

We have all heard it at one time or another:  a job applicant "fudges" the information they list on the job application and the employer finds out about it.  The question then becomes, ok, so now what?  Nick Fishman has a couple good thoughts on the topic and highlights that at the end of the day, it is still legal to reject a candidate for falsifying an application (so long as the appropriate steps are taken to comply with an adverse action process.


California Invalidates Meal Period Waiver Rules for Healthcare Workers

This is one of the better California related employment law blogs I read and recently, they had a good article on a ruling from the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District in regard to meal period waiver rules for healthcare workers.  The case, Gerard v. Orange Coast Mem'l Med. Ctr., clarified that healthcare workers who work shifts of over 12 hours have a right to unpaid, off duty meal periods of at least 30 minutes.  Go ahead and check out their write up for additional information on the ruling.

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