law + order

Wondering what’s legal and illegal at work? Answers to your questions about law + order at work.

how to ask for a disability accommodation for a job interview

A reader writes: I hoped you could answer a question –– ideally with a disability/employment lawyer or other specialist –– about disclosing disabilities at the interview stage. Your site is emphatic that disabilities should not be disclosed until an offer is received, due to the possibility for (unconscious) discrimination. This makes sense, but it leaves […]

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how to live with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) at work

What if you had a medical condition that caused you to have monthly fits of rage and sorrow? How would you deal with it at work? PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, is a mood condition that impacts 5-8% of menstruators. It can mean wild mood swings, rage, anxiety, depression, and lethargy during the second half […]

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a hoarder at work is causing a mouse problem

A reader writes: I work in a lab at a university. Back in August, we starting noticing mice. One of the employees in a leadership position, Julie, has a hoarding problem. Her office is full of so many piles of stuff you can’t walk through it, and there are closets full of her stuff as […]

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my employer says we can’t stop patrons from filming us

A reader writes: I work at a library in a two-party consent state for recording people. Recently people have been coming in and harassing the staff and filming their reactions. Some of these videos have ended up on social media websites, giving our library a minor amount of fame (much to the staff’s dismay). In […]

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how do you find a lawyer for workplace issues?

A reader writes: You’ve written before about the scenarios where it might be wise to speak to a lawyer regarding issues at work. Could you talk a little bit about how to find a lawyer for that kind of thing? Is there a speciality or title folks should be looking for? Is it just a […]

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is this HR process for accommodations as bananas as it feels?

A reader writes: Like many companies, mine recently announced a tightening of hybrid/WFH scheduling. During the pandemic, I started an ongoing series of weekly healthcare appointments via telehealth, which have made a massive improvement in my life. Until now, company policy was that people who are not client-facing could work from the office or from […]

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