In last year’s landmark Bostock decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited under Title VII. In its earlier Oncale decision, the Court concluded that...more
Employers concerned about losing valuable employees may take the initiative to provide salary increases intended to deter them from seeking alternative employment. A new decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals...more
Under Title VII, an employer may be liable for sexual harassment by one co-worker of another if it knew or should have known of the conduct and took no action. According to a recent decision from the Eighth Circuit Court of...more
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act allows plaintiffs to pursue equal pay claims based on prior actions that continue to have a negative effect on their salaries. Last month, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant...more
2/8/2021
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Lilly Ledbetter ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wage and Hour
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination based on a range of protected classifications. However, Title VII only applies to employment relationships and cannot be used by contractors,...more
1/22/2021
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Definition ,
Equity Partners ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Law Firm Partners ,
Law Practice Management ,
Professional Services Companies ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Title VII
The statute of limitations for bringing claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act is two years from the last alleged illegal act. However, this period is increased to three years in the event of a willful FMLA violation...more
A number of employers have encountered resistance to mask wearing mandates put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, employees assert that they have a medical condition that prevents them from being...more
Hospitality industry employers continue to battle with employees over the proper calculation and distribution of tips under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Last month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North...more
In the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 Barnett decision, the court held that qualified disabled employees are entitled to reassignment to an existing vacant position under the Americans with Disabilities Act if they become unable...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with protected disabilities. Another part of the ADA requires employers to refrain from discriminating against disabled...more
11/6/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remand ,
Reversal
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s multiemployer worksite doctrine, a company can be cited for safety violations that it did not create and for hazards to which its own employees were never exposed. The...more
10/30/2020
/ Appeals ,
Citations ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
General Contractors ,
Multi-Employer Worksites ,
OSHA ,
Safety Violations ,
Subcontractors ,
Workplace Hazards
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, if an employee with a disability requests accommodation, the employer must work with that person to determine if there are reasonable measures that can be taken that allow the...more
Retaliation claims now constitute the most frequently cited basis for charges filed before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Lawsuits based on retaliation can be especially dangerous for employers because they do...more
North Carolina’s Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) provides employees with legal claims against employers that retaliate against them for engaging in protected actions under state workers’ compensation, wage...more
According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, Black men in the U.S. are more likely to be arrested and have criminal convictions on their records than their white counterparts. Last week, a split Second Circuit Court of...more
9/28/2020
/ Appeals ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Records ,
Dismissals ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Race Discrimination
In its 2011 North American Stainless decision, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that an engaged man could sue for retaliation under Title VII after he was fired around the time his fiancée filed a discrimination claim against...more
We occasionally receive questions from employers about employees who have threatened or even attempted suicide. While these issues first involve making sure that the employee is safe and receiving appropriate care, questions...more
Truck drivers and some related workers differ from other employees in that they are subject to federal Department of Transportation safety rules that require medical examinations and disqualify workers with certain medical...more
Federal civil rights laws prevent retaliation against employees who oppose discriminatory conduct in the workplace. What happens, however, when the employee’s oppositional conduct interferes with the performance of her job...more
In its 2012 Hosanna-Tabor decision, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recognized that religious organizations have the ability to select, discipline, and discharge employees who perform ministerial duties – without being...more
7/9/2020
/ Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
First Amendment ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v Morrissey-Berru ,
Religious Schools ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Teachers
Employers faced with escalating employee overtime costs may consider implementing an alternative pay plan called the fluctuating workweek (FWW). In short, in return for paying a guaranteed salary to non-exempt employees, FWW...more
In most situations, employers are not liable for civil claims relating to criminal conduct by their employees because such actions are deemed to be outside the course and scope of their employment. Plaintiffs can get around...more
Under Title VII, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who request work modifications for religious observances. However, following a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision, federal courts have...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act restricts employers’ ability to require employee medical evaluations to situations where such exams are job related and consistent with business necessity. This month, the Fourth Circuit...more
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows awards of both compensatory and punitive damages capped at a total amount depending on the size of the employer. In a new decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals...more