This week, the EEOC issued new guidance regarding pandemic-related caregiver discrimination. The EEOC assumes (probably rightly) that caregiving obligations are more likely to fall on women so discrimination against...more
There has been a lot of discussion over the last few years about the joint employer test for liability under employment statutes. Whether it be Uber drivers in California or the back and forth over the Trump administration’s...more
Both the House and Senate have approved a bill that allows victims of workplace sexual assault and sexual harassment to take their claims to court instead of being forced to arbitration. In a rare show of partisanship,...more
3/4/2022
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
We are all familiar with the phrase “No good deed goes unpunished.” That apparently is the theme of an Eighth Circuit opinion reviewing an employee’s suit alleging that she was improperly denied an accommodation under the...more
What is the right way to dismiss a case the parties have settled, and are FLSA cases different? Typically, when parties to a lawsuit settle a case, they merely alert the court of the settlement and then file a stipulation of...more
2/15/2022
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Settlement ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
So, the union has an agreement with the company’s management that only those on their predetermined qualification list can be selected for a job. Would that list, or at least the administrative arm for that list, be...more
As we all know, the Supreme Court stayed the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees. As of today, OSHA has withdrawn that emergency temporary standard.
The announcement notes that:...more
We hope your 2022 is off to a good start and you are all managing the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. For this post, we wanted to take a break from COVID-19-specific topics to remind you of some new year to dos. Specifically,...more
In an opinion stating that they believe that opponents of the OSHA ETS on Vaccinations and Testing will be successful in their challenge to that standard, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday reinstated federal court stays that...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In light of the difficulty of test scheduling and concerns about costs to consumers, the Biden administration this week announced that the Department of Health and Human Services will require private health insurance and...more
By now most people in the United States are aware that the Biden Administration wants everyone to get a COVID-19 vaccine and is using OSHA, CMS, and federal contracts to accomplish that goal. The OSHA path is an emergency...more
Despite all of our hopes and prayers for an end to the pandemic, we still have employees who are exposed to or testing positive for COVID-19, and we still need to figure out how to deal with those issues. The CDC issued new...more
1/7/2022
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Quarantine ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
For almost two years now, employers have been tackling the issues surrounding COVID-19. Not surprisingly most questions centered on COVID-19-specific leave, OSHA reporting requirements, and vaccines. Now, the EEOC has chimed...more
In the ever-changing vaccine mandate legal tennis match, the Sixth Circuit on Friday entered an opinion lifting the Fifth Circuit’s stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 vaccines and testing. Companies with...more
We’ve talked about social media policies several times over the years, but it’s been a while since we’ve discussed monitoring your employees’ work phones, emails, and internet usage. As you most likely know, you can and...more
As we are sure you have heard, many people are not all that psyched about the federal government mandating that employees get vaccinated. Just to keep everyone on the same page in these ever-changing times, here is a quick...more
12/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Injunctions ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Many of us are understandably anxious to put another tumultuous year of the pandemic behind us. But before we sit down at the table to fill our plates and bellies to overflowing to celebrate the holiday, we can all find some...more
11/24/2021
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Harassment ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Stays ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Employers in Tennessee need to hold off on requiring COVID-19 vaccine proof from employees because they might run afoul of a newly minted law. On November 12, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed an omnibus COVID-19 bill into law...more
11/18/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Lee ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
Tennessee ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
The saga of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) newly announced COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) continues. As you know, the ETS requires employers with 100 or more employees to mandate...more
11/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Injunctions ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As most employers already know, OSHA’s newly announced COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is set to take effect January 4, 2022, and will require, among other things, that workers at U.S. companies with at least 100...more
11/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Premature Claims ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Things just got more complicated in Tennessee for private employers wrestling with COVID-19 vaccines. On October 30, the Tennessee Legislature passed an omnibus COVID-19 bill that does not entirely line up with the current or...more
Law and Practice Chambers -
The 2020 Chambers US Regional Employment Guide features guidance on employment law across 14 states and includes a unique state comparison tool for readers. The guide provides expert legal...more
10/29/2021
/ Alabama ,
Black Lives Matter ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Discrimination ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Gig Economy ,
Harassment ,
Health and Safety ,
Immigration ,
Interviews ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Privacy Laws ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
Technology ,
Termination ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
As we reported here, President Biden issued his “Path out of the Pandemic” memorandum on September 9, 2021. Part of that memorandum directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop a rule to...more
10/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
We’ve been talking a lot about COVID-19 lately and, in particular, the various regulations and guidance that have come out regarding an employer’s day-to-day responsibilities: Can you require employees to take the vaccine?...more
10/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination
Are you paying employees using a day rate under the FLSA? If so, you may want to read the Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in the latest string of Helix Energy cases. According to the Fifth Circuit, companies who do business in...more