When litigating employment discrimination claims, plaintiffs frequently base their allegations on alleged disparaging comments made by a member of the company’s management. When that manager was the one who made a decision...more
9/5/2025
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Appeals ,
Disparagement ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Managers ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment
Here is a common scenario: A key employee resigns, and the former employer discovers that on the way out he emailed to a personal account sensitive business information including financial and strategic planning data. ...more
Most employers understandably dread the possibility of a workplace investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. However, many of these same companies fail to pay appropriate attention to notices of...more
As part of the Family and Medical Leave Act’s medical certification process, the employee’s health care provider includes an estimate of the time the employee will need to be absent from work. ...more
Both unionized and non-unionized employers are familiar with the National Labor Relations Board’s authority to pursue and adjudicate unfair labor practice charges. Following high-profile charges brought against SpaceX and...more
8/29/2025
/ Appeals ,
Article II ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Executive Authority ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Removal ,
Separation of Powers ,
SpaceX ,
Unfair Labor Practices
With the explosion of legal hemp products across the U.S., employers are increasingly faced with employees who claim that a positive test for marijuana resulted from use of legal CBD products. ...more
8/29/2025
/ Appeals ,
At-Will Employment ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Retaliation ,
State Law Claims ,
Summary Judgment ,
THC
Last month, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued updated guidance on penalty and debt collection procedures. According to OSHA, the policy revisions are intended to assist small businesses with...more
8/21/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guidance Update ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Safety Violations ,
Small Business ,
Workplace Safety
For years, both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and multiple federal appellate circuits have agreed on the legal standard for proving liability for sexual or other harassment by a third party such as a vendor or...more
8/15/2025
/ Appeals ,
Customers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Harassment ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Harassment ,
Title VII ,
Vendors
Given the slow progress of civil litigation in the U.S., federal courts continue to hear challenges to employer vaccination mandates imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to 2023, employers generally held the upper hand...more
8/15/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Reports of the demise of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s enforcement of traditional discrimination claims may have been exaggerated. Last week, the commission announced settlement of claims made against Sinclair...more
8/15/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
NLRB ,
Pay Transparency ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement ,
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Recently, we had interesting questions from a client that was implementing two-factor authentication for employees to access the company’s information systems. The process requires employees to install the authentication app...more
8/8/2025
/ Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
Remote Working ,
Workplace Privacy
How should employers react to employee complaints of harassment or threats of physical violence from a former coworker? Once the company has terminated the coworker, concerns about retaliation against an employee by the fired...more
In some situations, employees undergoing serious medical issues request accommodations that would require extensive time away from work or major modifications to their job duties. ...more
On July 24, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced several self-audit and voluntary compliance programs across six of its agencies aimed at what the agency describes as helping employers, unions, and benefit plan...more
8/1/2025
/ Audits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
OSHA ,
USERRA ,
Voluntary Correction Program ,
Voluntary Self-Audit ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In 2010, a trainer at SeaWorld was grabbed and drowned by an orca during a live show. Following an investigation, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer under the General...more
In recent years, state courts have questioned whether independent contractors can be placed under enforceable post-engagement noncompetition agreements. ...more
As part of its deregulatory initiative on July 1, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed deleting requirements for medical evaluations before employees are permitted to use certain classes of...more
7/25/2025
/ Certification Requirements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deregulation ,
Employees ,
Masks ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Examinations ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Workplace Safety
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