On May 1, 2025, Minneapolis, Minnesota’s city council passed several amendments to its civil rights ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which prohibits discriminatory practices in employment, among other areas. With regard to...more
Employers in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont should take note of a recent Second Circuit decision holding that an employee may still be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
Effective May 11, 2025, New York City employers will be required to physically and electronically post a copy of their written lactation room accommodation policy.
Recently enacted Local Law 109 amends existing language...more
On April 19, 2024, the EEOC published its final rule regarding the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees or candidates with a...more
On August 11, 2023, the EEOC issued a proposed rule regarding the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The PWFA, which took effect on June 27, 2023 requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to...more
On May 15, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released updates to its “technical assistance” on COVID-19-related discrimination concerns in the workplace. The updated guidelines come in response to...more
Individuals with a variety of hearing conditions may have disabilities covered by the ADA.
Pre-job offer disability-related questions can violate the ADA, but certain questions regarding the ability of a candidate to...more
1/30/2023
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Interpreters ,
Job Applicants ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
Undue Hardship ,
Wellness Programs
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has signed into law a bill that expands protections for employees who are subject to employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The new law supplements existing state law that prohibits private...more
3/17/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tennessee ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On March 14, 2022, the EEOC released new guidance regarding caregiver discrimination and the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of many workplaces returning to in-person work. The new guidance supplements earlier guidance regarding...more
3/16/2022
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Caregivers ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
New Guidance ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The Florida Department of Legal Affairs has issued an emergency rule and other additional guidance regarding the recently enacted House Bill HB-1B, which, among other things, requires private employers who mandate COVID-19...more
On October 25, the EEOC issued updated and expanded guidance regarding the obligations of employers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) when an employee presents with a religious objection to a...more
10/26/2021
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In a memo dated July 6, 2021, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the COVID-19 vaccines’ status as products authorized for emergency use does not prohibit public and private entities from requiring them as a...more
8/2/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations
On May 28, the EEOC issued updated and expanded guidance for employers, addressing many unanswered questions regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. The updates supplement prior EEOC guidance and focus on four topics: (1) mandatory...more
6/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The New York state legislature passed Bill S2588A/A3354B, which would amend the New York Labor Law to grant employees paid leave time for the COVID-19 vaccination. Below is a brief summary of what New York employers need to...more
On December 16, the EEOC issued updated guidance for employers in light of the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) recent authorization of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. Widespread vaccinations are largely...more
12/18/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 8, 2020, the EEOC released an updated technical assistance document addressing COVID-19 and the federal anti-discrimination laws enforced by the agency, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Our...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has released new informal guidance directed at employees regarding use of opioids and employer obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The EEOC also...more
8/11/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Drug Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ,
New Guidance ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Substance Abuse
As employers are likely aware, cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19, but more commonly known simply as the “Coronavirus”) continue to spread. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...more
2/26/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
OSHA ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Management ,
Traveling Employee ,
US State Departments ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization
Effective January 11, 2020, the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) has been amended to expand protections under the law to freelancers and independent contractors. Significantly, this includes the requirement that...more
1/15/2020
/ Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
NYCHRL ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Harassment
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law amendments to the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) that expand protections for employees who are victims of domestic violence. The amendments will take effect on...more
On the heels of enacting a law to prohibit hairstyle discrimination, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a bill that amends the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) to expressly prohibit employment...more
On July 2, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (the “Act”), which amends the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (“CUMMA”) to provide...more
While the Court’s decision resolves a circuit split on the issue, it does not in fact alter the law in the majority of jurisdictions, with eight circuits having already held that failure to exhaust administrative remedies...more
6/5/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Forfeiture ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Jurisdictional Requirements ,
Mandatory Claim-Processing Rules ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Title VII ,
Waiver Rule ,
Wrongful Termination
New York City’s new law requiring employers to engage in a “cooperative dialogue” with employees requesting reasonable accommodation and provide a written determination at the end of the cooperative dialogue process takes...more
10/16/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cooperative Dialogue ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Interactive Process ,
New Rules ,
NYCHRL ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Undue Hardship
The New York City Council voted last month to amend the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) to explicitly require that covered entities engage in “cooperative dialogue” with those persons who may be entitled to a...more
1/23/2018
/ Amended Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cooperative Dialogue ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Human Rights ,
Interactive Process ,
NYHRL ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws