In its released budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, the Trump administration plans to zero out funding for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (commonly abbreviated as CSB)....more
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed regulations that would substantially reduce overtime obligations for home care and related employers. ...more
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, violations of overtime or minimum wage requirements can result in assessment of liquidated damages equal to the amount of unpaid wages. ...more
7/18/2025
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Enforcement ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
When a disabled employee requests an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, this triggers an interactive process whereby both parties share information and work to determine if a reasonable and effective...more
At the end of its latest term last month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major decision regarding the ability of federal district courts to issue nationwide injunctions blocking executive branch regulations and executive...more
Companies attempting to manage workers' compensation expenses often express frustration over injury claims made by employees weeks or even months after the alleged incident occurred. In some situations, such as those...more
California often acts as the nation’s laboratory for employment laws that are eventually adopted by other states or even the federal government. Earlier this month, the California Senate passed a measure that would sharply...more
6/27/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Machine Learning ,
New Legislation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Labor Laws
Last week in a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to claims by a former employee that changes to her retiree medical benefits discriminated against her...more
6/27/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Former Employee ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Stanley v City of Sanford Florida
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis that has resulted in profound changes to when employees can claim discrimination relating to job decisions that do not appear to have much...more
6/20/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
Risk Management ,
SCOTUS ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII
Employers are familiar with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provisions that apply to disabled employees or applicants. However, other portions of the law apply similar prohibitions against discrimination by government...more
6/20/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Government Agencies ,
Public Accommodation ,
Public Schools ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
School Districts ,
SCOTUS ,
Students
Here is a common scenario faced by human resources professionals: An employee complains about unprofessional and bullying behavior by a coworker. After interviewing the two employees and other workers, the employer cannot...more
Over the past several years, EmployNews has chronicled multiple legislative, regulatory, and judicial assaults on the use of noncompetition agreements with employees. These attacks have weakened or eliminated employers'...more
6/13/2025
/ Contract Terms ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforceability ,
Former Employee ,
Garden Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected use of a special legal test for plaintiffs to prove illegal bias in reverse discrimination cases. ...more
6/13/2025
/ Ames v Ohio Department of Youth Services ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Protected Class ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
Unionization campaigns often become heated, resulting in claims and criticism by both management and organized labor that walk a fine line between protected speech and illegal intimidation....more
On June 2, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision interpreting the limitations period for filing lawsuits under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. ...more
6/6/2025
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Judicial Authority ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Popular ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations
The applicability of U.S. labor and employment laws to U.S. citizens working outside of the country can be complicated. In general, if the citizen works for a U.S. company outside of the country, they enjoy the same legal...more
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to begin enforcement of English language proficiency (ELP)...more
6/2/2025
/ Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Motor Carriers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
New Guidance ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration
For employers, workers' compensation laws act as both a sword and a shield. While injured employees do not have to prove negligence resulting in the injury, they cannot sue the employer for personal injury outside of the...more
On May 20, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it will no longer provide funding to state and local EEO agencies for purposes of investigating or prosecuting discrimination charges based on allegations...more
Last week, a federal district court in Texas granted summary judgment to the State of Texas in a lawsuit challenging portions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s workplace harassment guidance dealing with...more
Mistakes happen, even with sophisticated corporate payroll systems. This can involve duplicate wage payments, paying an employee for unpaid time away from work, or other genuine errors. ...more
5/23/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Overpayment ,
Payroll Deductions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
When an employee requests an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, this sets into motion an interactive process intended to determine whether the requested accommodation is both reasonable and effective....more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows few signs of progress in finalizing proposed regulations intended to address risks associated with employee exposure to hot working conditions....more
When a commissioned salesperson leaves employment, the most common dispute we encounter involves that employee’s entitlement to payment of commissions after their departure date. ...more
In 2024, the Department of Labor adopted regulations limiting the definition of independent contractors exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and minimum wage requirements....more