Cassandra Redux? How I Did On My 2016 #Emplaw Predictions

Every year I have done predictions for what I expected to happen in employment law and I'm usually right. After 30 years of law practice, it turns out I know stuff, despite what my teenagers say. Here's what I predicted for 2016 and how it turned out:

Political firings: I predicted a rash of political firings for discussing politics at work, and of course this happened. But it was less about the actual politics and more about the undercurrents. This year, there were more blatant comments about women, gays, the disabled and other protected groups than I've seen in my 30 years of law practice, and much of that was because of the tone of the political campaigns.

LGBT discrimination: I predicted that some states and localities would pass laws against LGBT discrimination, but my home state of Florida would fail again. That's exactly what happened. What I didn't predict was the rash of anti-gay legislation that would arise. From bathroom bills to religious exemptions, some states tried everything they could to put the screws to the gay community this year.

Obama to the rescue: I predicted the President would continue to be active with his pen and squeeze in some more pro-employee executive orders before he left office and he did. The new President says he'll reverse them all on his first day.

Clear choice: I predicted that the candidates for President would make their positions on working people very clear. That was certainly true. I told you to vote very carefully. I said you could easily lose many workplace rights if you vote wrong. Well, you're about to see how bad it can get.

EEOC step up: I predicted that EEOC would step up its activities in one final burst before the new President got a chance to gut it, and they did. There were a whole bunch of new guidances issued on mental disabilities, harassment, wellness notices, national origin, federal sector discrimination, retaliation, and affirmative action for people with disabilities.

NLRB step up: I predicted that NLRB would also try to help working people as much as it can while it still could, and that employers would complain bitterly. Yep.

Do-nothing Congress: I predicted Congress would do zip to help working people. They did nothing.

Criminalization: I said we'd see more employees arrested and prosecuted for things like trade secrets violations, whereas employers who steal wages would walk. That happened.

Joint employer: I predicted that whether franchises and placement agencies are joint employers with parent companies and the companies employees are placed with would be a hot issue this year and that the Supremes wouldn't decide the issue. That indeed continued to be a hot topic, with DOL and NLRB taking a big lead on the issue.

Guns at work redux: I predicted that employees and the NRA would push to allow employees with concealed weapons permits to carry into the workplace. We did see more of those guns-at-work parking lot laws, and Florida legislators are trying to repeal a law prohibiting guns in airports (doh!). We didn't see the push to take the guns from the parking lots to the workplace this year, but that push is coming.

So, I did pretty well, even though 2016 was a year nobody could have predicted. Next up are my predictions for 2017.  Today, I'll be busy helping protect working people while they still have rights and ignoring the festivities in D.C.