Jonathan A. Segal is a partner at Duane Morris LLP in the Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group . He is also the managing principal of the Duane Morris Institute . The Duane Morris Institute provides training for human resource professionals, in house counsel, benefits administrators and managers at Duane Morris, at client sites and by way of webinar on myriad employment, labor, benefits and immigration matters. Read Jonathan's blog at the Duane Morris Institute or follow him on Twitter @Jonathan_HR_Law .
According to a recent poll, 73‑percent of workers value flexibility in looking for a job (or staying in a job).
Employers, in their self-interest, need to help employees with work life challenges. But that is easier said than done.
This blog addresses some of the rarely discussed issues when it comes to work-life challenges.
1. Nomenclature
In Nasir, the U.S. Supreme Court held that, to prove retaliation under Title VII, a “but for” analysis applies. This is a higher standard than the “motivating factor” burden to prove discrimination under Title VII.
Nasir has been hailed as a big win for employers. But that’s only at summary judgment or perhaps at trial where the wins can be extremely expensive.
The real win for employers is that it makes it easier for us to take corrective action in response to retaliation without necessarily making admissions, at least under federal law. Why?
Where have all the mentors gone? Long time passing.
Where have all the mentors gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the mentors gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the mentors gone?
Favored few have picked everyone
When will we every learn?
When will we ever learn?
There was a time when employees had few protections and were subject to abuses by unregulated management. For example:
As almost everyone now knows, Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook. She is also the author of the ground-breaking book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead .
I have read the book twice. Simply put, I think it is a brilliant manifesto for women and men alike.
Yet, the acclaim is not universal. To the contrary, the book has been met with some hot criticism.
Jason Collins has become the first male professional athlete from a major professional sport to acknowledge, publicly, that he is gay. That he is the first, and it is 2013, speaks volumes of the apparent homophobia in professional sports.
But Collins' coming out is not an isolated event. It is part of a trend in which LGBT employees are increasingly open in their workplaces about who they are.
Most fish don’t know they swim in water. At least not the fish whom I have interviewed.
The same is true of most human beings when it comes to corporate culture. Most of us don’t appreciate fully the cultures of which we are a part.
Corporate culture is a product of human beings, and none of us is perfect, so no corporate culture is without some strengths and weaknesses. Indeed, the weaknesses usually are the strengths (taken to the extreme).
I am happy to be with our employees today in bricks and mortar rather than in the clouds. You truly are our most valuable resource.
I am sorry that we had some systems issues when we reached out to you. But we are agile, so we created a work around to connect with all of you today, so that we can call out to you a new initiative that will result in a knowledge share.
I want to share with you, our key stakeholders, a new value added initiative that will help build bridges. It is a proactive response to the problems you have raised as engaged participants.
By Jonathan Segal
The term boys’ club refers to the unofficial and often impenetrable group of men—usually white men—in an organization or department who have effective control and power. Being part of or having access to the club is often critical to making the right connections to advance within the organization.
It was a privilege for me to attend and speak at SHRM’s Employment Law and Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
For me, one of the high points was listening to the presentation by EEOC Commissioners Chai Feldblum and Victoria Lipnic.
While not quite the same as being there, I wanted to share with you what I tweeted during and after their presentation, which actually was a “chat.”
It is hard to believe another season of Downton Abbey is over. Of course, Downton Abbey refers to a property, at least technically. But it is obviously much more than just that. It is about the family who lives there and the changing times.
Perhaps less obvious, it is also about an employer. As Dowager Countess of Grantham so emphatically pointed out, among the responsibilities of the aristocrats is to provide jobs. And jobs they do provide.
Imagine coming to work and receiving, on your desk, a card from your boss that says:
"You’re my everything, all the time, forever, but especially on this Valentine’s Day."
"Tell me your Dreams of us being together forever… and I’ll tell you my dreams about yours coming true. Happy Valentine’s Day!"
"It’s Valentine’s Day… a day of love… the very special day we set aside for wishing things in a very special way."
Last month, I wrote a blog titled, “A Holiday Tale by a Jewish Guy Who Wears a Chai.” I wanted to address the serious potholes we navigate around the holiday season, but in a fun way.
I dedicated the blog post to my grandparents. I shared how I miss lighting the menorah candles with them.
In response to the post, I had a lot of conversations with clients and other friends about the legal and HR issues raised. But more than that, many shared with me stories about memories of holidays past with their grandparents and others no longer with us.
The last time I made a prediction was in 2009. I predicted the market would soar and I moved most of my bonds to stocks. Yes, I will be working until I am 102 years of age. So when it comes to my own personal finances, my predictions are not very good.
I hope they are a little better in terms of knowing what comes next in the employment world. So here are my predictions:
You walk into your building and you see that holiday decorations are everywhere. You pass by a beautiful pine Christmas tree eloquently decorated. A co-worker responds: "The tree is inappropriate to the workplace."
Segal: WRONG. It is beautiful and Christmas can and should be acknowledged (says the Jewish guy who wears his grandmother’s Chai). Don’t remove Christmas from the holiday season. But recognize other holidays, too. A Hanukkah menorah and a Kwanzaa harvest basket would be nice additions.
You walk into your building and you see that holiday decorations are everywhere. You pass by a beautiful pine Christmas tree eloquently decorated. A co-worker responds: "The tree is inappropriate to the workplace."
Segal: WRONG. It is beautiful and Christmas can and should be acknowledged (says the Jewish guy who wears his grandmother’s Chai). Don’t remove Christmas from the holiday season. But recognize other holidays, too. A Hanukkah menorah and a Kwanzaa harvest basket would be nice additions.
A supervisor has a romantic interest in a subordinate colleague. What can go wrong? Let me count the ways!
As we all know, the glass ceiling is the invisible and sometimes impenetrable barrier that prevents women of talent from rising as high as men of equal talent. While we undeniably have made progress as a society, men still have disproportionate power at the top in most organizations.
