Last week’s revocation of federal affirmative action requirements was accompanied by a statement from the Trump administration stating its intent to eliminate any federal program that promotes DEI principles. ...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding former President Joe Biden’s executive order increasing the minimum wage applicable to employees of certain...more
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could have significant impacts on employee retiree medical insurance plans. In Stanley v. City of Sanford, a retired city employee alleges that Sanford’s...more
When reviewing an employee’s request for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers sometimes develop tunnel vision when deciding whether the claimed medical condition constitutes a protected ADA...more
1/17/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Mental Health ,
PTSD ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers established internal procedures to evaluate employees' requests for religious and medical-based exemptions from vaccination mandates. ...more
1/10/2025
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII
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
Over the past several months, we have seen an increasing number of new artificial intelligence (AI) products aimed at increasing worker safety in the manufacturing context. Many of these products use real-time data to...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
Last week, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule amending its safety standards for the construction industry to require assurance of the proper fitting of personal protective equipment....more
Earlier this year, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) issued a decision that provides employers with an important defense to some Family and Medical Leave Act...more
When a union and employer negotiate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), it is virtually impossible for the parties to predict and account for every issue that may affect the working relationship between them...more
When preparing employee separation or severance agreements, we are occasionally asked by clients whether they can include a noncompetition restriction as part of the severance offer, even in situations where no noncompete was...more
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
On Monday, the federal Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that eliminates a special subminimum wage for certain employees with disabilities under the Fair Labor Standards Act....more
Last Friday, a federal district court in Texas issued a decision blocking both rounds of increases in the minimum salary required to claim the overtime exemption for executive, administrative, and professional employees under...more
11/22/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Vacated ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
For years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified fall protection among its top compliance priorities. Falls have been a continuing leading cause of employee injuries and deaths, especially in the...more
During union representation campaigns, it is common for employers to advise employees of the downsides posed by union recognition. The current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has criticized these tactics, alleging that...more
11/15/2024
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Special Meetings ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding. For years, federal courts have interpreted Title IX to include an implied right of action for...more
11/15/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coaches ,
Colleges ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Private Right of Action ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Teachers ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Universities
With the January 1 pending increase to the minimum salary required to claim exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions, many employers are facing the need to reclassify as non-exempt workers who will...more
The Fair Labor Standards Act contains complex rules for determining whether non-exempt employee travel is compensable working time. In most circumstances, time spent commuting to and from work is not considered FLSA working...more
Most consumers are aware that their personal data is collected, compiled, analyzed, and sold to third parties for marketing and other purposes. Many employees may not know of similar data collection practices relating to...more
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
Many employees consider their pets to be family members and rely on them for emotional support and mental health wellbeing. Two New York City legislators recently took this a step further, introducing a measure that would...more
As part of the backlash against employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccinations, Montana amended its antidiscrimination law to add vaccination status as a protected category. This means that employers are prohibited from inquiring or...more
Following a "cause" finding in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge of discrimination investigation, the agency issues a right to sue letter to the charging party or agrees to sue the employer on that person’s...more