HR's Best Friend

Hosted by D. Scott Crook

Business Management

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Episodes

Latest episode

Jun 2024

Language

EN-US

About the show

HR's Best Friend is for HR professionals and business leaders who want to make sure they stay compliant, don’t get in trouble, and keep their employees happy! D. Scott Crook is THE Utah Employment Lawyer. He’s consistently listed in Rocky Mountain Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America. He is the managing partner of Crook Legal Group. Scott is only licensed to practice law in Utah and Idaho. He is not giving specific legal advice. If you need specific legal advice, please go to an attorney.

Listen to episodes

12 recent

June 28, 202426 min

Pride Donuts - Piercing Policies - Nepotism

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and James Crook, his trusty son and sidekick, tackle a controversial Facebook post about Pride Month donuts and Chick-fil-A, exploring the legal implications of workplace discrimination. They then address anonymous questions on visible body piercings in professional settings and handling difficult directors. The duo wraps up by dissecting The Office episode 'Nepotism,' providing insights on hiring relatives and inappropriate workplace discipline.

June 4, 202435 min

Bigoted Boss - Pay Secrecy - Complaint Conundrums

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and James Crook, his trusty son and sidekick, dive into a shocking court case involving severe racial and religious discrimination against a black Muslim employee at a moving company. The duo breaks down the illegal and hostile actions of the company's owner, including discriminatory pay practices, threats of violence, and pressure to convert religions. Later, they tackle tough questions about pay secrecy rules and how to handle employees who repeatedly claim discrimination, providing valuable insights for navigating these challenging situations in the workplace.

May 17, 20241 hr 35 min

2024 Utah Employment Law Legislation Updates - HR's Best Friend

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and Carolyn Howe, an associate at Crook Legal Group focused on employment law, dedicated countless hours to researching the laws passed in the recent Utah legislative session that will impact Utah employers. Listen in as they discuss the impact of these laws and how Utah employers should respond.

April 3, 202434 min

HR's Best Friend - Branch Wars - Dress Codes - Exotic Dancing - Bullying

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and James Crook, his trusty son and sidekick, dissect The Office episode "Branch Wars." Later, they discuss a law suit involving a dress code and answer anonymous questions regarding exotic dancing and bullying in the workplace. 00:00 Intro and upcoming event announcement 01:02 March Madness discussion 05:40 Analyzing employment law issues in The Office episode "Branch Wars" 07:15 Scenario 1: Jim being lured into the car under false pretenses 11:20 Scenario 2: The exclusivity of the Finer Things Club 14:17 Scenario 3: Michael and Dwight stealing the copier and injuring themselves 16:51 Current event: Bakersfield prosecutor suing over dress code discrimination 24:16 Anonymous question 1: Employee therapist who pole dances on social media 28:51 Anonymous question 2: Handling a bullying claim with limited information 33:22 Reminder about upcoming brunch event on new legislation affecting employers 34:52 Wrap-up

March 18, 202441 min

HR's Best Friend - SpaceX Harassment - Racist Doll - Severance Instead of PIP

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and his trusty son and sidekick James Crook discuss a harassment lawsuit brought against SpaceX, a discrimination lawsuit brought against a hospital involving a racist doll, and answer anonymous questions from Facebook and Reddit. Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:33 - Racial Discrimination Lawsuit 00:14:54 - SpaceX Sexual Harassment Claim 00:29:40 - Severance vs. Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) 00:31:23 - Employee Taking Leave and Transferring Documents 00:34:00 - Managers Having an Affair 00:37:00 - Exceptions to PTO Policy for Personal Tragedy 00:40:37 - Wrap-up

January 29, 202432 min

HR's Best Friend - Kyte Baby - Ask a Pagan - Religious Status Messages

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and his trusty son and sidekick James Crook discuss the Kyte Baby fiasco and answer several anonymous Facebook group and Reddit questions. Chapters: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:29 - Kite Baby's Denial of Remote Work Request for New Mom 00:03:30 - Maternity Policy at Kite Baby 00:07:27 - Discrimination against non-biological parents in employment 00:11:00 - Considerations for Employee Accommodation 00:14:26 - Termination for Sending Mass Email Complaints 00:18:16 - Legalities of employee termination and the complications 00:21:24 - The Importance of Diversity in Interview Panels 00:25:00 - Religious Celebrations in the Workplace 00:28:42 - Religion in the Workplace 00:32:42 - Wrapping Up the Discussion

January 3, 202444 min

HR's Best Friend - The Evil HR Lady - Suzanne Lucas

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and James Crook, his trusty son and sidekick, interview Suzanne Lucas, The Evil HR Lady. 00:00:00 - Legal Disclaimers 00:00:30 - Awesome Intro Songs 00:04:44 - The Tricky Things in HR 00:10:00 - HR Metrics and the Value of HR 00:15:13 - Dealing with Tricky Legal Questions in HR 00:19:53 - Employment Law Challenges for Remote Work 00:24:48 - The Challenges of Forced Ratings Distribution 00:28:56 - Conflicting Religious and Gender Identity 00:33:58 - Utah Law on Discrimination 00:40:16 - Protecting Employees from Harassment

December 18, 202321 min

HR's Best Friend - The Christmas Episode - Problems in Santa's Workshop?

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and James Crook, his trusty son and sidekick, play Illegal, Actionable, Immoral, or Normal with Santa's Workshop (if it was in Utah). We also answer questions regarding alcohol at holiday parties, letting employees go around the holidays, and more. 00:00 Intro 01:38 Scott plays with a Christmas Train 03:06 Santa's Workshop - Illegal, Actionable, Immoral, or Normal 04:23 Employing children and adolescents - Fair Labor Standards Act 07:25 Compensating employees with things other than wages 08:28 Do employers have to give employees breaks or time off? 12:40 Terminating employees around the holidays 16:16 Firing employees and withholding bonuses after receiving a two-weeks notice 19:37 Alcohol at holiday parties 20:20 What Christmas tree ornament represents HR the best?

December 5, 202329 min

HR's Best Friend - Rubicon Labor Trafficking Investigation - Handling HR Skepticism in the C-Suite

D. Scott Crook, The Utah Employment Lawyer, and James Crook, his trusty son and sidekick, play Illegal, Actionable, Immoral, or Normal with the Rubicon Labor Trafficking Investigation. Later, they discuss handling HR skepticism in the C-Suite, IRS requests to garnish wages, and paid leave questions.

November 13, 202330 min

HR's Best Friend - NLRB Joint-Employer Rule, Fake Priest, Remote E-Verify, Vacation Time

00:00 Introduction 03:00 NLRB Rule Changes and Impacts 11:57 Random conversation about auto-tuning and examples of auto-tuning in popular culture 14:00 Fake priest - illegal, actionable, immoral, or normal game 20:54 Forcing employees to take vacation time 25:24 Remote employee e-verify question 29:30 Conclusion