Last Thursday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued its amended guidance on pregnancy discrimination and accommodation in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Young v. UPS, issued in March 2015. The...more
On Monday, a federal jury in Atlanta awarded two hourly warehouse workers $2.2 million in a lawsuit brought under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
The controversy started when Atlas Logistics Group Retail...more
We asked attorneys writing on JD Supra to share with us their initial thoughts on the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell decision in favor of same-sex marriage equaliy, especially with the regard to the...more
6/26/2015
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
DOMA ,
First Glance ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
US v Windsor ,
Young Lawyers
First Glance perspective by attorney Robin Shea of the Supreme Court's recent Religious Accommodation decision in EEOC v. Abercrombie. Spoiler alert: more alarming than it sounds....more
6/2/2015
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
First Glance ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Popular ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII
Maybe it’s just me, but workplace harassment issues seem to come in waves — I’ll go months, or even a year, without an issue, and then WHAM! everybody has a “situation,” or at least they need to get their preventive training...more
Are harassment and retaliation lawsuits all going to the jury now? Are employers doomed? Are the plaintiffs’ lawyers popping the champagne corks? Is the EEOC dancing for joy?...more
The employer community has been waiting for years to receive guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on wellness programs and how an employer’s obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act intersect...more
Is the proposed rule good for employers, or bad? Pretty good overall. The EEOC has, for the most part, proposed that providing “incentives” for employees to participate in wellness programs (both rewards and penalties, which...more
In the context of a lawsuit brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a recent court decision says that “regular attendance” is an essential function of the job. But what is “regular attendance”?...more
Shortly before Ellen Pao lost started a “conversation” about sex discrimination in the tech industry, yet another lawsuit was filed alleging sex discrimination in the tech industry. ...more
I start my new job as a Starbucks barista tomorrow. I am super-excited!!!!! I just hope I can handle the fast pace!...more
The Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi trial (daily updates here) is far from over, but that case, as well as one involving CRST Van Expedited in California, provide some valuable opportunities for us to learn from other employers’...more
1/23/2015
/ Best Practices ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Counterclaims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Law Firm Associates ,
Law Firm Partners ,
Popular ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trucking Industry
While the year is still young, here are 15 New Year’s resolutions that employers may want to make:
1. Make sure your “independent contractors” are really independent contractors. ”Independent contractors” are under...more
1/8/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Ambush Election Rules ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Background Checks ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
IRS ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
You’re an employer who tries to do the right thing. But what hidden traps are out there, waiting to grab your ankle and yank you into a lawsuit? Here are a few that cause trouble for even the best employers...more
Good news! The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced in its 2015 regulatory agenda that it will be issuing proposed regulations on the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic...more
And, as luck would have it, I presented a webinar on Wednesday with David Weisenfeld of XpertHR on “How to Make Your Workplace Holiday Party Sparkle — With No Legal Hangovers,” and got some great questions from the attendees....more
As one who presumably has no nude selfies, you may not be too concerned about a “hack” like the one that continues to afflict celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty...more
10/20/2014
/ Cloud Computing ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Social Media ,
Technology
Last week, I wrote about the two situations in which an employer should ask an applicant about a disability or a religious belief or practice that might require reasonable accommodation. (As I emphasized last week, 99 percent...more
10/13/2014
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
PDA ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination
Sometimes your employee is the victim. If so, you may have someone who is distracted, scared, upset, or frequently absent because of physical injury or psychological trauma, or court appearances. She (or he – men can be...more
Rarely does one get a case that involves a cutting-edge Americans with Disabilities Act issue combined with wild, crazy, passionate, irrationally exuberant, tempestuous, adulterous romance. Well, folks, today is your lucky...more
I thought only elephants had two-year pregnancies. As I’ve discussed here before, “pregnancy” for purposes of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act includes a lot of things besides the actual nine months of physical...more