Following a number of 2025 executive orders and combined guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice (DOJ) targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a July 29,...more
Just this week, in Richards v. Eli Lily & Co., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals became the third circuit to depart from the long-standing Lusardi standard for distributing notice to potential plaintiffs in collective...more
8/7/2025
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Appellate Courts ,
Collective Actions ,
Document Management ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Job Descriptions ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Notice Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
While artificial intelligence (AI) can be a powerful tool in a manager’s arsenal when it comes to efficiently making decisions, it is essential to use it ethically and fairly. Companies are no longer relying on AI solely to...more
7/24/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Bias ,
Bots ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Technology
As everyone in Human Resources knows by now, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees because of pregnancy and conditions related to pregnancy. In case you missed it, we...more
5/8/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation
In early April 2025, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recognized that employers could be held liable for monetary damages and other relief for violating the medical inquiry and examination limitations of the...more
Even just a few years ago, the concept of using artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday life was a novel, if somewhat intimidating, concept. But from Google’s AI overview to Microsoft’s Copilot, many of us use AI daily to...more
4/17/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Technology
This week President Donald Trump nominated attorney Jonathan Berry to be the next solicitor of the Department of Labor (DOL). Berry worked in the department during the first Trump administration, and he was the sole author of...more
4/4/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Over-Time ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
President Donald Trump’s “Return to In-Person Work” executive order (EO) mandates that federal employees return to full-time office work. This EO effectively ended the widespread hybrid and remote work arrangements that had...more
2/12/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration
At some point, every employer will need to investigate an employee’s complaint. An investigation is an important tool that employers can use to fix a workplace problem and minimize liability. Or, an investigation can create...more
1/31/2025
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Investigations ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Workplace Safety
What does the EEOC have to do with smart watches, rings, glasses, helmets and other devices that track bodily movement and other data? These devices, known as “wearables,” can track location, brain activity, heart rate, and...more
1/21/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Smart Devices ,
Technology Sector ,
Title VII ,
Tracking Systems
When did you last look at your employee leave policies? As the calendar turns to a new year, new changes often arrive, and 2025 is no exception. Employers should take note of the recent updates to state leave laws that went...more
1/16/2025
/ Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
With inclement weather, snow flurries, and ice in the forecast, we thought it was best to dust off the old blog post and remind you about best practices to address weather-related issues when paying employees. We hope you all...more
The changing landscape of the cannabis industry is keeping employers on their toes nationwide. As more and more states expand the legalization of cannabis products, we are also seeing a trend in the cannabis statutes for...more
12/17/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Cannabis Products ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Private Right of Action ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Harassment prevention is still a top priority for federal agencies (which means it should be a priority for all employers). Last spring, we blogged about the EEOC’s guidance on this issue, and now the OFCCP has issued its own...more
Most employers have gotten the hang of handling FMLA requests: Make sure the employee is eligible; get paperwork from the provider; and monitor the amount of time taken. Whether all supervisors are overjoyed with every...more
Here’s a refresher: Discriminating against a subclass of a sex (e.g., older women or black women) is still discrimination. In McCreight v. AuburnBank, the Eleventh Circuit clarified a few things for the lawyers related to the...more
9/26/2024
/ Age Discrimination ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hostile Environment ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII
Can you prohibit your employees from bringing firearms to your workplace? You may think the answer is yes, but it’s more complicated. Recent state laws on gun rights have raised questions regarding guns at work. Here we will...more
7/5/2024
/ Alabama ,
Concealed Carry Permit ,
Concealed Weapons ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer No-Weapons Policies ,
Employment Policies ,
Firearms ,
Gun Laws ,
Louisiana ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Workplace Violence
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released long-awaited Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, No. 915.064. The EEOC also published a “Summary of Key Provisions,” FAQs for employees, and a...more
What accommodations are reasonable under the ADA? Employers are required to provide modifications or adjustments that enable a job applicant to be considered for a position. Beyond the application process, employers must also...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. To help determine effective accommodations, employers should use an “interactive...more
Violence in the workplace is something all employers prohibit and try to prevent. Healthcare employers have a tougher time, because the violence often comes from patients.
How do you best protect workers while still...more
3/13/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Nurses ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Texas has now joined states like California in creating statutory protections against workplace violence against healthcare workers. Senate Bill 240, now Chapter 331 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, requires healthcare...more
2/7/2024
/ California ,
Compliance ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Nurses ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
As this blog has consistently noted in the past, one of the most effective ways to combat unfounded allegations in the workplace is diligent record-keeping. Many employers have “point-based” disciplinary policies in which...more
1/9/2024
/ Absenteeism ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Notice Requirements ,
Race Discrimination ,
Racial Bias ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Termination
Everyone has been preparing for the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP Act. Earlier this month the EEOC gave us another reason to make sure our policies are up to snuff. Frontier Airlines and the EEOC...more
12/15/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Settlement
Can you enforce your uniform policy, even if that means an employee can’t wear a union t-shirt? Earlier this month, in Tesla, Inc. v. NLRB, the Fifth Circuit looked at that very question and ruled for Tesla....more