http://www.wislawjournal.com/type.cfm/Workplace%20Wisdom The latest News updates for Workplace Wisdom from WLJ en-us Copyright 2008, Wisconsin Law Journal. http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/06/16/Employment-retaliation-claims-A-growth-industry Last year, for the first time, there were more retaliation charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) than sex discrimination charges. The number of retaliation claims filed in state and federal courts and agencies continues to climb. It is not unusual for employees to allege retaliation on top of underlying discrimination claims. And it is not unusual for employers who successfully defend against the discrimination claims to find it much harder to successfully fight off claims of retaliation. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:45:58 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/04/28/Comp-time-off-may-run-afoul-of-the-law The practice of employment law can be a thankless pursuit. A couple months ago I cautioned regarding the legal risks of holiday office parties. This article resulted in several e-mails from colleagues accusing me of being a prude, teetotaler and party-pooper. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:54:41 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/03/17/Office-betting-pools-Dive-in-at-your-own-risk Let’s lay it on the table from the start — office betting pools are illegal in Wisconsin. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:27:11 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/01/28/Personal-use-of-company-email-Where-to-draw-the-line Nowadays, e-mail is a fixture in most workplaces, a useful tool for communication and calendaring. However, most of us also recognize that e-mail can be an enormous work distraction. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:30:15 CST http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2007/12/17/Beware-the-office-Christmas-party Every who in the office liked the Christmas party a lot, but the lawyer who advised on HR matters did not. Yes, I suspect my clients sometimes think of me as a “Grinch.” That’s okay. I understand, and I don’t take it personally. My job is to help my clients manage their legal risks, and sometimes that requires me to be the wet blanket. Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:40:38 CST http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2007/11/12/Unusual-behavior-can-trigger-employers-FMLA-obligations As most employers know, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) obligates covered employers to give leave to qualifying employees with serious health conditions. And, as the Seventh Circuit put it in Aubuchon v. Knauf Fiberglass, GMBH, the “quid pro quo” for this obligation is the employee’s burden to give notice of the need for leave. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:27:05 CST http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2007/10/05/When-is-a-harassment-complaint-not-a-harassment-complaint The Seventh Circuit recently decided an interesting same-sex harassment case that addressed the question of when an employer is put on notice of potential workplace harassment. In Bernier v. Morningstar, Inc., Todd Bernier sued Morningstar, under Title VII, claiming sexual harassment and retaliation. More specifically, Bernier claimed that Morningstar not only did not properly respond to his internal complaint of same-sex harassment, but that it terminated him in retaliation for his complaint. Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:34:29 CDT