The metaverse is poised to reshape the way we live and work. Employment law in real life is vexing enough, with US employers required to navigate the complex federal, state and local laws and regulations that impact the employment relationship. Now some employers and businesses are making the leap into the virtual world, where employment … Continue Reading
Welcome to Part 2 of the 2021 Year-End Edition of the State Law Round-Up, covering states in the second half of the alphabet. Part 1, covering the first part of the alphabet, can be found here. Maine: Maine’s “ban-the-box” law, HP 845, went into effect October 18, 2021. The law prohibits private employers from requesting … Continue Reading
The news today will be full of stories about mental health, aimed at raising awareness of this critical issue. Similarly, many companies will be running events to support employees’ mental health, encouraging them to feel comfortable disclosing their any issues and to seek support. This is all very laudable and forms an important part of … Continue Reading
A recent decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal (QCA) has set the record straight in finding that an aged care provider was vicariously liable for the belittling and aggressive conduct of its manager, and awarding the worker $435,583.98 in damages for a psychiatric injury. Ms Eaton started work as an administrative assistant for an … Continue Reading
In the first two parts of this series (part 1, part 2) we looked at how the Courts still regard the 2002 judgment in Hatton –v- Sutherland as the definitive statement on the law for liability for stress-induced psychiatric injury in the workplace. However, although still commanding respect in relation to breach of duty and … Continue Reading
In Part 1 of this piece https://www.employmentlawworldview.com/uk-high-court-gives-useful-recap-on-liability-for-stress-induced-psychiatric-illness-in-the-workplace-part-1/ we considered the requirement of foreseeability as a condition of establishing an employer’s liability for stress-related psychiatric harm. Here we look at the other main ingredient, a breach of duty by the employer. It is not enough that an employee’s illness is as a matter of medical fact … Continue Reading
Every so often, there comes along a case which becomes the new baseline by which decisions in a particular field are made. In relation to employer liability for psychiatric illness caused by workplace stress, that case is Hatton -v- Sutherland in 2002, still going strong after 13 years and most recently upheld by the High … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, Democrats in the Arizona legislature introduced three measures that would significantly change the legal landscape for Arizona employers. While none of the bills are likely to be passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature or be signed by newly-elected Republican Governor Doug Ducey, the proposed laws nonetheless have gotten Arizona employers’ attention. Most recently, … Continue Reading
Although a few states – most notably California – as well as a handful of cities have passed legislation requiring that employers provide paid sick leave benefits to employees, federal law presently does not mandate that employers offer this benefit. (The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires that certain employers provide time off … Continue Reading
According to some of my older lecture notes, there is or used to be a stress-relieving service available in Tokyo’s business district which involved dogs. An assistant would arrive at the office festooned with small dogs on leads, and hyper-stressed businessmen could spend a calming few minutes stroking their tensions away and into the dog … Continue Reading
This post is a “conversation” between Barbara Wilson of Working with Cancer and Alex Tambourides, Hammersmith and Fulham MIND. BW: I do find it shocking though not surprising that although research shows over 80% of those who are working when diagnosed with cancer want to return to work, over 57% have to change their jobs … Continue Reading
In the UK there are currently over 750,000 people of working age living with cancer. This represents over a third of the 2 million living with cancer, and with survival rates improving and people retiring later, that proportion is likely to increase. More than 40% of people diagnosed with cancer make changes to their working … Continue Reading
Yesterday was ‘Time to Talk’ day, a day about getting people to talk about mental health. Why does talking about mental health matter to business? It matters because mental health problems cost UK business over £26bn per year and such issues are now recognised as the number one reason for time off work. However, absence … Continue Reading
The BBC has reported that working at night can have an adverse long term effect on the health of employees. According to scientists at the Sleep Research Centre in Surrey, working night shifts affects the body’s natural rhythm or body clock and can alter hormone levels, mood and brain function. For those without medical degrees, … Continue Reading
My New Year’s Resolution was to go to a gym. I’ve done that now. As a result, I have developed a posture better suited to an amateur dramatics production of Richard III, and a number of body parts which have worked quite adequately for over half a century no longer do. Don’t let this be … Continue Reading
We are in the midst of below-freezing temperatures here in Cleveland, Ohio. Other parts of the world have been experiencing a blanket of snow for weeks already. It’s beautiful actually to see the snow sprinkle down and gather on tree limbs…beautiful for about two days, if you don’t have to leave the house and can … Continue Reading
We have written extensively on the issue of mental health recently. It is a subject getting a lot of coverage at the moment. Another previously taboo subject which has moved in the right direction in society, but, clearly, still has some way to go. As a big cricket fan, I am well aware of the … Continue Reading
I was made redundant yesterday. Several times, actually. As part of a redundancy consultation training session for a client, we ran a series of role plays where unsuspecting managers were faced with some not wholly implausible human behaviours. I played an employee brought to tears by the at-risk letter and announced mid-way through the first … Continue Reading
For the next in our series on mental health in the workplace we take a look at some helpful guidance in ACAS’s booklet, “Promoting Positive Mental Health at Work.” Barring a surprising number of typographical clangers, this is actually a pretty good read. The plot is a bit thin, but there are some key messages … Continue Reading
At Thorpe Park in Surrey, actors dress up, hollow-eyed and gory, and chase terrified customers around a “Live Action Horror Maze” (says the website). If you really enjoy being scared out of your wits in the dark by strangers wielding chain saws then it sounds fun. However, the loose theme is that the actors are … Continue Reading
Are bankers deserving of your pity? That depends on how you define “banker”. If you mean one of the minuscule group (often said to be less than a thousand) who could genuinely be said to be personally culpable in causing the financial crisis in 2008, then clearly not. But if you mean any other of … Continue Reading
A colleague of mine heard the Chief Medical Officer for the SAS say at a recent conference that, “What we have in the SAS is love for each other”. When would you ever hear this sort of comment in the Board Room of UK Ltd? How many managers or partners would say this of their … Continue Reading
The statistic that approximately 1 in 10 employees in Europe is or has been absent from work due to depression, will come as no surprise to most employers or HR professionals. This statistic takes no account of ‘presenteeism’, where employees who are unwell attend the workplace because they feel they should, but who then perform … Continue Reading
This is the first in a series of posts looking at questions around identifying and supporting employees with mental health issues, when an illness becomes a disability and the interplay between business realities and employment law. In a banner year for mental health awareness, the profile of the issue rose last week to new heights. … Continue Reading
