Companies attempting to manage workers' compensation expenses often express frustration over injury claims made by employees weeks or even months after the alleged incident occurred. In some situations, such as those...more
Mistakes happen, even with sophisticated corporate payroll systems. This can involve duplicate wage payments, paying an employee for unpaid time away from work, or other genuine errors. ...more
5/23/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Overpayment ,
Payroll Deductions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Recently, we have seen an unusual spike in client situations involving legal claims associated with discipline or discharge of employees who engage in threatening or disruptive behavior in the workplace....more
Drug testing for marijuana has never been an exact science. There is no consensus on what level of marijuana in the bloodstream constitutes intoxication. Unlike alcohol, employees who used marijuana weeks ago or longer can...more
As of July 1, 2025, Wyoming joins a growing list of states that bar employers from entering into non-competition agreements with most workers. The new law voids existing and new non-competes, with exceptions for the sale of a...more
The Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to provide unpaid meal breaks to non-exempt employees if those breaks are of a sufficient length and if employees are relieved of their duties during such breaks....more
In recent years, a number of colleges and universities have added caste to their list of prohibited classifications under their anti-discrimination policies. Two Hindu professors at a public California university filed suit,...more
In several recent situations, we discovered that North Carolina employers implemented cuts in employee pay due to demotions or other business reasons without complying with state law notice requirements. ...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from asking most applicants questions about their medical history before a conditional offer of employment is made....more
While the Trump administration appears to have little interest in defending the Federal Trade Commission’s regulatory ban on non-competition agreements in employment, the agency recently signaled its intent to scrutinize at...more
When considering whether to place employees under post-employment restrictive covenants, employers often consider including customer non-solicitation provisions in addition to or as an alternative to the traditional...more
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal last month of an executive order that required larger federal contractors to create and implement affirmative action plans intended to increase the participation of women and...more
2/14/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Private Sector ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
With the transition to the new administration in Washington taking place later this month, how could this change affect the enforcement priorities of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? These priorities shift every...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides unpaid job-protected leave for a qualified employee to care for a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition. This means that FMLA protections do not extend to employee...more
12/20/2024
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
In Loco Parentis ,
Parental Responsibilities ,
Special Needs Adults ,
Wrongful Termination
Lawsuits challenging employers' authority to require measures intended to prevent COVID-19 infections continue to wend their way through the federal judiciary. Last month, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a claim...more
12/6/2024
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it had reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed against a Pennsylvania debt collection agency alleging failure to provide a religious...more
When considering accommodations requested by an employee due to a disability, employers sometimes fail to think through the long-term effects of such changes. In many cases, the accommodation request is permanent, meaning...more
We previously reported a growing number of questions from employers involving employees who have tested positive for marijuana and who claimed the positive test resulted from their use of legal CBD products. Last week, the...more
With the election quickly approaching, we are already receiving questions from employers involving concerns over arguments and disruptions in the workplace resulting from political disagreements. We hoped that the contentious...more
Last week, we reported a federal appellate decision finding that an employee who insisted on working remotely failed to demonstrate a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act because he would not consider alternative...more
In recent years, we have had a number of clients report suspected employee overdoses at their facilities. The growing availability and potency of fentanyl and other opiates has resulted in an epidemic of overdoses and deaths....more
When consulting with employers regarding employee accommodation requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act, we frequently hear concerns that granting a requested accommodation will likely result in coworkers making...more
Disputes between employees and employers over COVID-19-era vaccination and masking policies continue to work their way through the legal system. Earlier this month, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes...more
5/17/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Masks ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
After investigating allegations of sexual harassment and taking disciplinary action, we see a surprising number of claims from the accused harassers that they were actually the victims of alleged discriminatory behavior that...more
Over the past few years, the National Labor Relations Board has taken aggressive measures to extend labor law protections to some non-unionized employees. These decisions have involved employer policies restricting social...more