JetBlue’s slogan of “Happy Jetting” apparently didn’t make it into the employee handbook.

According to authorities, a JetBlue flight attendant got into an argument with a passenger on a jetliner arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday, cursed the passenger, grabbed a beer from the galley and then deployed an emergency exit slide and fled the plane.

That’ll be $7 for the beer, and oh by the way, we only take credit cards.

Read the full article here

Source: NPR

In City of Ontario v. Jeff Quon (June 17, 2010) the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the City didn’t violate Fourth  Amendment protections against unreasonable searches when it reviewed an employee’s text messages sent on a city provided pager.  While this decision applies to public sector employers the case provides useful guidance to all employers.

The City of Ontario Police Department had issued pagers to SWAT team members and paid a monthly fee for their use, which included a 25,000 character limit.  City policy provided that it reserved the right to monitor communication activity, warned that employees should have no expectations of privacy in these communications, that all communications using city equipment are city property, that such resources should not be used for personal reasons, and also banned obscene, harassing, or inappropriate communications.   Quon exceeded the limit multiple times (chatting with his wife and mistress using sexually explicit language) and paid the over limit charges.  When an increasing number of officers were regularly exceeding their pager limits, an audit of messages sent during work hours was undertaken.  Quon was disciplined and he sued.

The Court found that even if Quon had a reasonable expectation of privacy, the City didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment.  It found that the search was reasonable as the City had undertaken the audit to determine if the pager program was sufficient and if the overages resulted from personal or job related messages during work time. Additionally, the search wasn’t excessively intrusive as only several months of work time messages were reviewed.

The Bottom Line:   The case underscores the need for solid and well-communicated policies regarding emails, texting, cell phones, and other electronic communications.  Additionally, it’s important to be able to demonstrate that any searches be work related and limited in scope.

The recently enacted Arizona immigration law makes it a state crime for someone to be in Arizona illegally and requires the police to arrest those who can’t provide evidence of citizenship or the right to be in the U.S.

But the impact of the law reaches far beyond Arizona, as massive media coverage, and strong feelings on the issue are likely to affect many workplaces.

Employers should be on alert for racial harassment jokes and slurs targeted against Hispanics as well as other forms of discrimination based on race or national origin. Some employers or their managers may seek to create more “English only” workplaces, which is appropriate only in limited circumstances.  Organizations should also ensure that Hispanics are not required to meet higher standards than others, whether that’s requiring more documentation for I-9s, stronger skills, or different criteria for promotions or raises.   Immigration is a controversial and sensitive issue which isn’t going away any time soon.   In fact, other states are discussing similar actions to those taken in Arizona.  With this in mind it’s a good time to roll out those good HR practices of EEO and harassment training for managers and staff, diversity initiatives, regular dissemination of policies, and an ongoing review of practices and procedures.  Finally, it’s important to ensure that non native English speakers understand nondiscrimination policies, complaint procedures, and safety information.

The Illinois minimum wage rates increased to $8.25 on July 1, 2010.  Employers may pay new employees $7.75 per hour during their first 90 days of employment.

Effective July 2, 2010, Ohio employers with 50 or more employees must provide two weeks of unpaid leave for an employee who is the spouse, parent, or a person who has or had custody of a member of the uniformed services when that member is deployed or injured. (Ohio Military Family Leave Act). On June 23, 2010, the Tennessee Human Rights Act was amended to allow English-only policies in the workplace under certain circumstances.   All employers, whether in Tennessee or elsewhere, should be very cautious in implementing any English only policies, which must be narrowly crafted.

The Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act, which prohibits smoking in enclosed public and workplaces, became effective on July 1^st, 2010.
New Jersey employers must conspicuously post a revised   MW-17 Wage Payment poster (found at: http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/forms_pdfs/lsse/mw-17.pdf) by July 13^th, 2010.  Employers must also provide employees a hard copy of the NJDOL’s prepared notice about the law, after it’s issued by the NJDOL.