Can you still have DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs? How about affirmative action plans? The Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard garnered national attention in holding...more
2/6/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
State Attorneys General ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
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 federal Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act (the WARN Act), generally requires that employers give workers 60 days’ written notice of any plant closings or mass layoffs. If employers do not comply with this...more
1/8/2025
/ Back Pay ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Layoffs ,
Notice Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Unions ,
WARN Act
Did you know that you can request files from OSHA? Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), employers, employees, and third parties have the right to request documents from OSHA’s inspection files. These records provide...more
1/8/2025
/ Appeals ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Document Requests ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FOIA ,
Inspection Rights ,
OSHA ,
Public Records ,
Third-Party ,
Workplace Safety
Just what does an OSHA citation have to include? Section 9(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires that citations “describe with particularity the nature of the violation, including a reference to the provision...more
Wait — why is my favorite employment law blog detouring into the world of website accessibility? If your business has a website, keep reading. If you read our blog regularly, you probably recall a few posts about website...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
With each new presidential administration, prognosticators attempt to forecast coming enforcement priorities. President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House is no exception, and theories abound regarding the manner...more
12/12/2024
/ Compliance ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
USCIS
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
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, now is the perfect time to reflect on things for which we have to be thankful. In the ever-evolving world of labor and employment law, there have been several significant...more
11/27/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unions
By now, everyone has heard about the Texas court putting the kibosh on the new salary exempt thresholds. In other exemption classification news, the United States Supreme Court is set to issue an opinion in early 2025...more
11/20/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
The landscape of employment is undergoing a seismic shift as employers increasingly integrate technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), into workplace practices. AI workplace uses include a variety of...more
The National Labor Relations Board and unions have been busy. The NLRB received 3,286 union election petitions during FY 2024, up 27% since FY 2023 (when the NLRB received 2,593 petitions) and more than double the number of...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
We have news on two fronts:
First, the FTC Rule -
As related to the Federal Trade Commission’s nationwide ban on noncompete agreements, the FTC has appealed the federal court injunction in Texas to the federal Fifth...more
10/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Agenda
What happens if OSHA issues a citation and you do not agree with any or all of it? You have 15 working days from the date you receive the citation to contest in writing the citation, proposed penalty, and/or the abatement...more
Many employers have a false notion that OSHA cannot issue a citation if there is no specific standard violated.
The reality is, however, that OSHA has a catchall/gap filler provision that allows it to cite an employer...more
In recent weeks, the EEOC has filed a number of lawsuits on behalf of individuals, alleging a range of employment claims. Here, we provide a brief overview of those lawsuits and the issues that may be on the EEOC’s mind....more
We often hear, “OSHA can’t cite me because I didn’t employ the injured worker.” Unfortunately, this statement is often untrue.
Under OSHA’s Multi-Employer Doctrine, if you are an employer on a worksite where other...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
Most frequently, employers do not hear from OSHA unless they report a workplace injury. When a reported workplace injury does occur, OSHA will perform a walkthrough inspection of the worksite and may ultimately issue a...more
What about those salary thresholds for white-collar employees? Although they have been challenged, they are alive and kicking. Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed that the Department...more