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
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
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
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
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
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
12/13/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Law Claims
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
12/11/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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
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
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
11/26/2019
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Job Offers ,
Jury Trial ,
Medical Leave ,
Mental Health ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rescission ,
Resignation ,
Teachers
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
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
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
11/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Blue Pencil Contract Modification ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Injunctions ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
10/14/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
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
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
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
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
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
9/6/2019
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Poor Job Performance ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reaffirmation ,
Safety Violations ,
Slurs ,
Summary Judgment ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII