The tip wars between hospitality employers and employees continue unabated. Numerous lawsuits contend that restaurants and other employers wrongfully retain or require sharing of customer gratuities, as well as violate Fair...more
The "Same Actor Inference" is a legal principle that recognizes the logical gap when an employee alleges that they were terminated based on membership in a protected classification, by a manager who recently hired them with...more
In order to demonstrate discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, plaintiffs must show that they suffered an adverse employment action. When this action involves a termination, salary reduction or other...more
In recent years, a number of states and municipalities have adopted measures that restrict employers’ ability to base a new hire’s starting salary on what they made in their prior job. In the past, it was common for...more
4/5/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
When reviewing requests for accommodation from sick or injured workers, employers often focus on whether the requested accommodation is reasonable or whether it imposes an undue hardship on the company. ...more
The National Labor Relations Act’s employee protections extend beyond unionized workplaces or those undergoing organizing activities. Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who...more
3/29/2024
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Home Health Care ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Termination
Employers’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have faced recent pushback from employees and others who claim that the contents of training falsely accuse them of systemic bias based on their race....more
When we talk with employers about employees taking Family and Medical Leave Act leave, we sometimes get questions about the impact of the employee’s absence on the business. We in turn explain that the FMLA is an entitlement,...more
When advising employers about the legal risks associated with a business reorganization, we generally advise that discrimination claims are less likely when a company closes an entire facility or department as compared to...more
2/23/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remand ,
Reorganizations ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Risk Management ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination
During the COVID-19 pandemic and afterwards, employers have faced a growing number of requests for remote work arrangements based on a medical disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to grant...more
2/16/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Essential Functions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Telecommuting
Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims from a university professor that she had been subjected to a series of retaliatory acts in the two- and one-half year period following her filing an Equal...more
We have become involved in an increasing number of disputes between companies and their former employees over ownership and use of personal social media accounts. In a typical situation, the employee will use their personal...more
When faced with potential employee organizing activity, some employers react by trying to address worker grievances through alternatives to union representation. Sometimes these approaches involve establishing an internal...more
1/19/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Communication Workers of America ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Grievance Process ,
NLRB ,
Remand ,
Special Committees ,
T-Mobile ,
Union Organizers ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
When facing requests from a qualified disabled worker, the Americans with Disabilities Act allows employers to choose an effective accommodation, even if it is not the one preferred by the employee. Earlier this week, the...more
When does an employee’s request for accommodations not fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act? According to a decision this week from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina,...more
As a result of the recent string of legislative and regulatory efforts to curb or eliminate the use of non-competition agreements in employment, employers may have lost sight of relatively non-controversial measures they can...more
In last term’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly increased employers’ obligation to consider religious exemption requests under Title VII. Rather than the previous de minimus burden standard,...more
12/8/2023
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Litigation ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
Last month, we reported a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision that rejected an Americans with Disabilities Act claim brought by a teacher who was denied an extended leave of absence for recovery from surgery. The court...more
Two of the biggest employment law fallacies we encounter relate to employees’ beliefs about the impact of their off-duty behavior on their careers. First, we see situations where the workers claim that employers have no right...more
12/1/2023
/ Appeals ,
Bias ,
Corporate Executives ,
Discipline ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Podcasts ,
Racial Bias
In last week’s EmployNews, we discussed a growing trend of employees basing requests for remote work on mental or physical disabilities, and therefore requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In...more
In order to prevail in an Equal Pay Act claim, the plaintiff must demonstrate that she was paid less than a comparable male employee. When the two employees have distinctly different job duties and responsibilities,...more
Litigation over employment issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic is finally reaching the trial and appellate courts. This week, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit from a warehouse manager...more
The Fair Labor Standards Act’s executive exemption applies to managers whose primary job function involves the supervision of two or more full time equivalents. In recent years, a large number of retailers, hospitality...more
The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires state and federal courts to defer to private arbitration agreements entered into between parties, including employers and employees. Employers often use arbitration agreements to...more
The North Carolina Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) prohibits employers from terminating or taking other adverse action against employees who complain about violation of rights protected under certain state...more