The Family and Medical Leave Act prohibits employers from interfering with or retaliating against an employee who requests FMLA leave. Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South...more
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued new regulations dealing with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s tip credit. The tip credit allows employers to pay a $2.13 hourly minimum wage to tipped...more
5/5/2023
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Reversal ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Over the past decade, federal courts have repeatedly reviewed religious-affiliated employers' ability to avoid federal discrimination claims. Courts recognize a "ministerial exception" that prevents discrimination claims by...more
Workers’ Compensation law is a double-edged sword. While employers cannot avoid Comp liability based on the employee’s negligent behavior, the injured employee cannot sue the employer outside of the Comp system for damages...more
These days, efforts by the federal government to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for various groups seem like ancient history. Nevertheless, federal courts continue hearing challenges to the mandates filed by state governments,...more
Under the “stray remarks” doctrine, courts can conclude that an employer’s expressions of frustration, or comments by a manager not involved in an adverse employment decision, are not persuasive evidence of...more
Over the past decade, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) has substantially lowered the bar for demonstrating racial harassment in cases where a racial...more
It’s never a good idea for an employer to ask an employee who is subject to potential termination about their retirement plans. However, what happens if the employee raises their retirement plans in the context of a...more
Late in the Trump administration, the Department of Labor issued final rules intended to distinguish between employees and independent contractors for purposes of qualification for overtime and minimum wage obligations under...more
A federal district court judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction blocking implementation of the White House’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal employees. The judge relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from asking questions about an employee’s medical condition absent “business necessity.” What exactly constitutes business necessity has been the subject of litigation...more
Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Biden administration’s motion to stay a lower court’s injunction against a COVID-19 vaccination mandate applicable to employees of federal contractors and...more
On Tuesday, a federal district court in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the mandatory vaccination provisions of executive order 14042 from taking effect. The order would have required employees of...more
Although it seems counterintuitive, we regularly run across situations where clients want to fire or demote an employee who recently received a promotion, stellar performance review, or some other kind of reward for good...more
On Tuesday, a Louisiana federal district court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing or enforcing regulations requiring employees of...more
12/6/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to provide employees with 60 days advance notice of a plant closing or mass layoff. On Tuesday in an unreported decision, the Fourth...more
12/6/2021
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Contract Termination ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fluor ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Notice Requirements ,
WARN Act
If an employer receives a citation and notice of penalty from the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration, that citation contains a number of important options and associated time frames. Earlier this...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a motion last week for a preliminary injunction filed by health care workers who object to a New York state COVID-19 vaccination mandate. The New York mandate contains medical...more
11/12/2021
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Public Health ,
Vaccinations
In a new opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Maner v. Dignity Health, the plaintiff was a male design engineer who was laid off due to performance and budget cut issues. He alleged that he had been discriminated...more
Most employers are aware that a supervisor’s or co-worker’s use of the N-word or similar racial epithets in the workplace can serve as the basis for a claim of racial harassment. What happens, however, when the slurs are...more
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are required to consider reassignment to an existing vacant position as a last ditch form of reasonable accommodation for an employee unable to return to their previous...more
In its Oncale decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex sexual harassment violates Title VII’s sex discrimination prohibition. In that case, the court said that plaintiffs can demonstrate same-sex harassment...more
5/28/2021
/ Appeals ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Harassment ,
PricewaterhouseCoopers ,
Remand ,
Same-Sex Harassment ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII
If disabled employees are no longer able to perform the essential functions of their job even with reasonable accommodation, under the Americans with Disabilities Act the employer must consider transferring the workers to an...more
5/7/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remand ,
Reversal
Some employers concerned about the risks and expenses that accompany employment litigation instead require their workers to agree to mandatory arbitration of employment claims. Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals...more
Many employers that attempt to manage workers’ compensation claims and expenses offer temporary light duty work to employees whose injuries prevent them from performing their regular job functions. The Department of Labor has...more
4/12/2021
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Jury Trial ,
Light-Duty Positions ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Workers' Compensation Claim