Hair. In some religions it is considered a sacred gift from God that should not be cut. In other religions, it must be styled, covered, or cut in particular ways. These religious practices may result in employees’ requesting...more
In the Broadway musical Pajama Game, based on the 1953 novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell, employees at the aptly named Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory want a pay increase of 7½ cents per hour.
(Like I said, the novel was written...more
In its recent en banc opinion in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned nearly 30 years of precedent that required Title VII plaintiffs to allege that they had been subjected to...more
On July 16, Time (the publisher I once knew as Time Magazine) posted an article titled “The Implications of the Supreme Court’s 303 Creative Decision Are Already Being Felt.” The article says that in the first few days after...more
In the past week, a class action lawsuit was filed against Anheuser-Busch, alleging various violations of California’s wage and hour laws.
You may ask, “What’s newsworthy about that? Aren’t hundreds of such lawsuits filed...more
In the past 30 days the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that denial of a religious accommodation requires proof of a real “undue hardship,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sent a letter to the EEOC asking how it intended to...more
In 303 Creative v. Elenis, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Colorado could not take legal action against a graphic designer who refused to create custom wedding websites for same-sex marriages because of her religious...more
7/10/2023
/ 303 Creative LLC v Elenis ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
SCOTUS ,
Vendors ,
Website Design
Must an employer preserve business-related text messages between employees using their personal cell phones? Can a judge punish an employer for failing to do so? According to a federal judge in Texas, the answer to the first...more
Can the playing of rap music in the workplace create a sexually hostile environment? Can it do so even when both men and women are offended by the lyrics? In Sharp v. S&S Activewear, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth...more
At one time or another, one of your employees may have had a serious health condition resulting in multiple absences, followed by a release to return to work with restrictions that you believed prevented the employee from...more
A recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit provides good reason for employers to make a robust effort at maintaining and disseminating a policy against discrimination and harassment....more
Common sense suggests that once the discipline train has left the station an employee should not be able to derail it by filing a charge of discrimination or engaging in other protected activity. This concept is typically...more
With a shout-out to Shakespeare and a TV quiz show that ran in the mid-1950s and ended in scandal, this is a question that any business using independent contractors needs to answer. When adjusted for inflation and the...more
Back in April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion that appears to make it much easier for collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act to proceed to trial. Last week, the court hit the...more
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 24 percent of working Americans performed some work at home in 2019. Because of the nightmare that 2020 has become, with its pandemic, hurricanes, forest fires, and social...more
If you have ever played in or watched a game in which the players called their own fouls, penalties or rules violations, you probably heard one of them respond to an alleged infraction by claiming, albeit with more colorful...more
This year has come in like a lion and -- with the pandemic continuing, protesters still marching, and a presidential election looming -- it will not go out like a lamb. Issues ranging from systemic racism to wearing masks...more
As we have reported, a state court judge in California recently issued a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting the reopening of a business until the employer complied with nearly one dozen COVID-19 safety-related...more
A group of employees in California recently went on strike to protest their employer’s refusal to close its business despite the employer’s alleged knowledge of a rising COVID-19 infection rate among employees and its failure...more