Hostile Work Environment

Which is the more heinous offense:  Using a bad pun on your name as a business name, or forcing your employees to attend bible study during working hours? Do your good intentions outweigh your employment law violations? What does a pre-millennial think about the modern workplace?  (hint-it involves farts.) And finally, is there a difference…

Here’s a topic we never thought we’d have to talk about: Slavery. Turns out human trafficking and indentured servitude still exists in the American Workplace (well, at least two workplaces in South Carolina and a Thai restaurant in Portland). We also never thought we’d talk about Marc’s career as a dollar-store cashier, but here we…

Don’t you just hate it when the strippers you thought were properly classified turn out to be employees and sue you for unpaid overtime? What do you mean that’s never happened to you – you think you’re better than us, don’t you? Well, we talk about strippers and cheesecake in this episode. And how filming…

What should a hospital do when a patient insists on a female doctor?  A Muslim therapist?  A white nurse?  Marc and Dennis break down the legal issues that arise when a customer demands service based on gender, religion or in some cases, race. What if your religion forbids you from shaking hands with the opposite sex?…

We can’t advise strongly enough against posting revenge porn.  Especially if you happen to be an airline pilot and you name your employer when you post it.  But what is an employer to do?  Find out what they shouldn’t do in this episode! What do you do if you get an unsolicited booty call text? …

Since I’m a small employer, I can totally discriminate against people, right?  Not so fast!  Marc and Dennis talk about the importance of location, location, location when it comes to employment law compliance. Our first advertisement!  (We just need to collect our bill, and we’ll be rolling in dough). And, a great listener-submitted story about…

I am writing to inform you that Marc has decided to leave the Hostile Work Environment to spend more time with his family, and Dennis has decided to leave to pursue other interests. (Just kidding — we’re here to stay. ) But we do talk about what special guest and People and Culture professional extraordinaire…

Marc and Dennis return to their favorite industry – funeral homes – to discuss a serious issue: What should you do when you find out the owner of the company is engaging in horrific sex harassment (which may or may not involve corpses)? Why is higher education-in particular, the sciences-a hotbed of gender discrimination? Why…

It’s hot out there, so some employees are making it hot in here by ignoring standards of appropriate dress! Like, can you wear the stars and bars to work? Can your boss make you wear high heels? How much thong is too much thong? Then we have an update about our friend who was fired…

Some people work for peanuts, other people won’t work in a workplace with peanuts — Marc and Dennis explore a disability lawsuit where peanuts figure quite prominently. Dennis tells an international tale with an interesting defense to a sex harassment claim. And Marc tells an uplifting tale of workplace body odor and how a social…