Non-compete clauses in employment agreements have been the source of much controversy over the years. Employers want them to protect their human capital and to prevent competitors from stealing their valued employees....more
If you have or want enforceable non-compete agreements with employees, read on.
Here’s a hypothetical: You are looking to hire a salesperson, and you find just the right person, John. Your company has a great...more
There is a new law for Tennessee employers. As of October 1, 2020, those of you with employees in Tennessee must reasonably accommodate pregnant employees under the state’s new “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” or else face...more
11/10/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Duty to Accommodate ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government
If you want to avoid potential liability from a former employee, remember a key maxim: Stick to your story about why you made the employment decision. If an employer shifts rationales for its decision or tries to pile on by...more
9/10/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Jury Trial ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Piling-On ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination
Haven’t updated that employee handbook in a while? Need to review it to make sure it is accurate? What policies actually need to be in a handbook?
These are some of the questions that employers regularly face – or at least...more
4/30/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Corrective Actions ,
Discipline ,
EEO ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 7 ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Wage and Hour
Usually, once is not enough, at least in the hostile work environment context. Unless, as the court found in Ronnie L. Outlaw v. SBH Services, Inc., it is.
Typically, a single incident of harassment – especially by a...more
In a decision that could have employers rethinking how they offer employees a severance agreement, in McClellan v. Midwest Machining, Inc. the Sixth Circuit held that former employees seeking to void severance agreements do...more
8/21/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Duress ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Severance Agreements ,
Severance Pay ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Void Contracts
Employers beware: An employee does not have to use “magic words” to complain about discrimination for it to lay the basis for a retaliation claim. The Sixth Circuit made this point in a unanimous opinion in the case of Mumm...more
3/9/2018
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Is an employee who quits her job then injures herself before she gets out the door still covered by workers’ comp? In a recent Tennessee case of first impression, the court ruled that after an employee says “I quit,” the...more
Tennessee lawmakers are cracking down on nurses and other healthcare providers (HCPs) diverting medications for personal use. A law going into effect on July 1, 2017, (yes—next week) puts an obligation on employers of HCPs...more
Quid pro quo and hostile environment sex harassment claims—two totally different claims—right? Or are they? While employers draw strict distinctions between these types of sex harassment, courts may not go along, as...more
Tennessee has become one of the latest states to “ban the box,” joining a growing list of jurisdictions barring employers from asking about job applicants’ criminal histories. As of April 18, 2016, a total of 23 states and...more
Regardless of your state’s workers’ compensation laws, covered employers must always keep the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in mind when wrestling with whether to ask job applicants about prior workers’ compensation...more
Earlier this month, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed a law prohibiting employers from firing employees for complying with the state’s “guns-in-trunks” statute. The new law creates another exception to Tennessee’s...more