Was that impolite?
Miss Manners (or her kids, who are doing Judith Martin's old column much of the time) have weighed in on some employment law issues lately.
They really need to stick to advising their audience to send...more
It's worth a read. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released a proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, and it's quite good. Don't let the length intimidate you. If you aren't an...more
10/6/2023
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Comment Period ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corrective Actions ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
LGBTQ ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Expression ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Transgender ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court became the first state court system in the United States to adopt a rule regarding use of preferred pronouns in court proceedings. The rule, which will take effect January 1, states as...more
These six will get the EEOC's attention in 2024-28.
Last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released its Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2024-28. Strategic Enforcement Plans provide a helpful preview of...more
9/29/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Pregnancy ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Vulnerable Victims
That's one way to get employers to allow remote work.
We all know that employers with 15 or more employees are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act and may have to provide reasonable accommodations to allow...more
I hope this won't ruin your Labor Day weekend.
The employer-unfriendly decisions from the National Labor Relations Board have been coming fast and furious. In honor of the holiday, here's a short recap.
As you probably...more
9/1/2023
/ Bargaining Units ,
Chilling Effect ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Pecuniary Losses ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Separation Agreement ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
You have an unlikely ally.
A lot of employers are still trying to get their employees to come back to the office, with varying degrees of success.
Once an employee loses the commute, and can work with both feet up, take a...more
It's the law. Did you know that this Monday, August 21, is National Senior Citizens' Day? Neither did I. But it is!
How are you going to spend National Senior Citizens' Day? I was thinking about playing shuffleboard,...more
As most of you know, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect on June 27, but employers had virtually no guidance regarding how to comply.
The PWFA requires employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable...more
After last week’s Supreme Court decision in Groff v. DeJoy, employers should prepare to seriously entertain, and grant, more employee requests for religious accommodation.
Gerald Groff, an Evangelical Christian postal...more
7/5/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship
I am pumped! Are you?
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Field Assistance Bulletin to its staff on how to enforce the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which was signed into law at the end of 2022 and is currently...more
Inconsistencies were fatal to this employer.
It's a well-established principle in discrimination law that an employer can be done in by "shifting explanations" for actions taken against an applicant or employee.
A recent...more
Nothing you wouldn't already have figured out.
This is not the most exciting employment law news, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued some updates to its technical assistance on COVID-19. According to...more
Happy Mother's Day weekend.
How much do you know about the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which will take effect only six short weeks from now? Take our Mother’s Day quiz and find out! You don’t have to be a mother (or...more
Not in my opinion.
The following scenario was in this morning's Miss Manners column. You may need a paid subscription to access, but here's the gist:
Employee is 20-something, happily married, and just learned that she is...more
Morals based on a real court decision.
My law partner Jon Yarbrough alerted me to a recent court decision that is full of little gems for employers. I thought I'd break the decision down into "true fables," each with a...more
4/28/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Disability ,
Employment Contract ,
Good Faith ,
Honest Belief Defense ,
Morals Clauses ,
Protected Activity ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Termination ,
Title IX ,
Wage and Hour
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Groff v. DeJoy, a case I blogged about in January. The case is about what standard of "undue hardship" should apply in religious accommodation cases.
Under every...more
4/21/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USSERA) ,
USPS ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Then again, it may have been that "FU" text I sent the boss.
You can't make this stuff up.
For those of you who think I'm too hard on employers, today is your day. There was an excellent pro-employer decision recently...more
Firm must go to trial on same-sex harassment claim.
If one employer's swings and misses can help other employers -- this case is a grand slam.
An executive recruiting firm hired a kid right out of college to work out of its...more
Mental illness can cause problems at work, and keep employees from getting help.
If my experience is typical (and it may not be), it seems that a significant percentage of employers’ legal and Human Resources problems come...more
3/31/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attendance ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Mental Health ,
Performance Reviews ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Social Media ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Bad news, but at least employers know where they stand.
Does your settlement or separation agreement contain non-disparagement or strict confidentiality provisions?
If so, it may not be worth the paper it's printed on....more
3/24/2023
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Separation Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Supervisors ,
Wage and Hour
You won't go wrong.
Top o' the mornin'! This post has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day, but I hope you're having a good one.
When I conduct harassment training for supervisors and managers, we spend a good bit of time...more
People, it doesn't work.
There was a court decision last week from my home state of North Carolina that left me shaking my head.
A social worker sued her ex-employer, a non-profit, claiming (among other things) that she...more
This is a G-rated post. PG at worst.
Toronto-area shop teacher Kayla Lemieux -- you know, the one with the famous Z-cup breasts -- has been placed on a leave of absence now that the New York Post has reported that she is...more
3/3/2023
/ Appearance Policy ,
Canada ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dress Codes ,
Gender Dysphoria ,
Leave of Absence ,
Popular ,
School Boards ,
Teachers ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour
Two cents from an employment lawyer.
My colleague David Phippen wrote an excellent bulletin about this week's McLaren Macomb decision from the National Labor Relations Board, in which the Board ruled that offering...more
2/24/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Rights ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Protected Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Separation Agreement ,
Severance Agreements ,
Severance Pay ,
Unfair Labor Practices