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Quit or Fired? N.C. Employees May Qualify for Unemployment Benefits in Equivocal Situations

Under North Carolina statute, employees who leave work for a reason other than good cause attributable to the employer are not eligible to receive unemployment benefits. Last month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals...more

ADA Request Must Show Connection Between Disability and Work Limitation

From time to time, we encounter requests from employees for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act that appear unrelated to the employee’s underlying medical condition. For example, an employee with a back...more

Employers Should Carefully Manage Interactive Process When Considering ADA Accommodations

In some situations, employers call us to ask about an employee’s request for job modifications that appear unworkable on their face. Sometimes, the requests remove a substantial part of the employee’s job duties, often...more

Eighth Circuit Affirms Attorneys Fees Award Against EEOC Based on Frivolous Claims

In 2007, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against a trucking company, alleging a pattern and practice of sexual harassment affecting a class of 270 female employees. The district court dismissed the...more

Second Circuit Allows Title VII Pay Discrimination Claim Without Evidence of Higher Paid Comparator

The Equal Pay Act allows employees to bring claims of pay discrimination based on gender by alleging that they were paid less than employees of a different gender who perform the same or similar work. This comparator...more

New California Law Prohibits Mandatory Arbitration of State Law Employment Claims

On January 1, 2020, a new California law could prevent employers in that state from requiring arbitration of employment claims brought under state law. The new law was prompted by stories revealed as a result of the #MeToo...more

NLRB Says Arbitration Agreement Must Specifically Exclude Claims Filed With NLRA

In its decision last term in Epic Systems Corp. V. Lewis, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the National Labor Relations Act does not preclude the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in employment which prevent class...more

Delaying COBRA Notice Past Eligibility Date Risks Insurer Refusing to Pay Claims

During the past year, we have encountered a number of situations where employers have allowed current and former employees to remain on their group medical insurance plans well past the date that they should have been placed...more

ADA Allows Hostile Environment Harassment Claims

Employees subjected to sexual harassment have long been able to bring legal claims under Title VII alleging creation of a hostile and offensive working environment. Over time, these legal principles extended to other...more

Employee Has Right to FMLA Leave Even if Medical Condition is Undiagnosed as of Date of Request

Qualified employees may take job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act based on their Serious Health Condition (SHC). A new decision from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals makes clear that the employee...more

Employers Can End Accommodations That Go Beyond ADA Requirements

When companies change management, employees sometimes believe it is unfair to hold them to higher performance standards than those required by their former supervisors. When it comes to accommodations made to disabled...more

Placing Employee on Performance Improvement Plan Does Not Count as Adverse Action

In order to state a claim of employment discrimination under federal civil rights laws, employees must demonstrate that they have been subjected to an adverse action. In most cases, the employee has been fired, demoted, or...more

North Carolina Courts Defeat Another ‘Overbroad' Noncompete

In recent years, North Carolina courts have become increasingly resistant to enforcing noncompetition and non-solicitation restrictions they view as insufficiently narrowed to the specific competitive threat presented by the...more

Sixth Circuit Says Attendance Was Essential Function of Job

If asked to describe the essential functions of a given job, most employers would include actually showing up to work as a critical component. In recent years the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position...more

Don't Condition Return to Work on ‘100 Percent Recovery'

When asked recently about the return of star quarterback Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera responded that he will not play until he is 100 percent recovered from a foot injury. While fine for NFL players,...more

Seventh Circuit Rejects ADA Claim Based on Fear of Future Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination in employment against persons who are disabled, as well as those regarded as disabled. Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals joined other federal courts...more

Supportive Replies to Co-Worker's Profane Email Were Protected Activity

As noted previously in EmployNews, Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects concerted activity by employees who complain about terms and conditions of employment. Obviously, email and social media did not exist...more

Employers Cannot Shorten Time Period for Filing Suit Under Title VII

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides specific time limitations for filing EEOC charges and subsequent lawsuits. What happens, however, if the employer and employee agree to shorten the period of time under which...more

Employee's Request for Leave Triggered ADA Accommodation Obligations

The EEOC and federal courts have repeatedly said that employees seeking accommodations for disabilities under the ADA do not have to use any “magic words” to trigger the employer’s obligations. A recent decision from the...more

U.S. Labor Department Proposes Rules to Expand Use of Tip Pools

Last year, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to clarify circumstances under which employers can require employees who receive tips to share (or pool) those gratuities with other employees. Last Tuesday, the...more

Federal Drug and Alcohol Requirements for Commercial Drivers Begin January 6

Beginning January 6, motor carriers using drivers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s drug and alcohol rules will be required to submit testing results and other information to a new electronic Drug...more

Sixth Circuit Gives Employers Roadmap for Dealing With FMLA Abuse

Of all the questions we receive from employers, those involving suspected abuse of intermittent family and medical leave remain among the most frustrating and difficult to address. While only a minority of employees on...more

NLRB Says Worker Misclassification Does Not Violate Labor Act

Employers should realize by now that misclassification of employees as independent contractors can result in a host of legal problems. These include claims based on failure to withhold taxes, provide unemployment and Workers’...more

Fourth Circuit Finds Two Race Discrimination Claims Failed to Allege Sufficiently Hostile Work Conditions

In recent years, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina and South Carolina) has lowered the bar for plaintiffs to take racial harassment claims to a jury trial when the alleged conduct involved use...more

Seventh Circuit Says One Use of "N-Word" Insufficient for Racial Harassment Claim

In recent years, a number of federal appellant courts, including the Fourth Circuit, have issued opinions finding that a single use of a racial slur can be enough to constitute a hostile and offensive working environment...more

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