In other words, which presidents can we -- ahem -- blame?
George and Abe say, "Don't look at us."
Just kidding. In honor of President's Day, I thought it might be fun to review which presidents were responsible for the...more
2/17/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
GINA ,
Labor Policies ,
Layoffs ,
NLRA ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
The USDOL has issued a handy little guide.
One of the biggest challenges employers with remote workers face is how to comply with wage and hour laws.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Bulletin discussing the...more
Even if the employee doesn't qualify.
Picture this. You ask your boss whether you can take leave under the FMLA. Your boss asks why you want the leave, and you say your cat is sick.* It's your favorite cat. Your boss...more
Now, no. Someday, probably.
I've been feeling a little insecure reading about ChatGPT and its ability to write articles, help college students cheat on (sorry -- I mean, "ace") their exams and get A+s on their term papers,...more
"Undue hardship" defense is likely to become tougher.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the undue hardship standard in religious accommodation cases. We expect the standard to become more difficult for employers...more
1/27/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USSERA) ,
Wage and Hour
Nothing, but here is my stab at it.
I’ve been racking my brain to find some employment-law-related excuse to blog about Prince Harry and his book Spare, which I have not read and do not intend to read, out of respect for...more
Inquiring minds want to know!
It's been a slow week for real news, and we have a long weekend coming up. But I found two stories relating to employees (one was a law partner, so technically not an employee) who blew their...more
Pregnancy and lactation accommodation.
Happy new year! Two pieces of legislation included in the $1.7 trillion Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill signed into law by President Biden on December 29 will enhance workplace...more
The impact on most employers should be minimal.
As you've probably heard, President Biden has recently signed into law two measures that could affect employers: The Speak Out Act, and the Respect for Marriage Act....more
12/16/2022
/ Employment Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Marriage ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trade Secrets
Booze, wage-hour, workers' comp . . . we have it all!
Can you believe that we haven't had a workplace holiday party quiz since 2015? It's true! That must mean it's time for a new one....more
The right to bore, and not to be bored.
These two cases are not from the U.S.A. But they have some good lessons for U.S. employers.
Case One: "C'est cool d'être ringard." (English translation: "It's hip to be square.") A...more
Remember faxes?
I don't. A 70-year-old home health care nurse (RN) has sued her employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act....more
Employers, don't be too rigid about employee notice requirements.
Weird case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Imagine this: You're the HR manager at a manufacturing facility. An hourly employee has...more
And the Commission will lose its GOP majority.
Janet Dhillon, who was chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during most of the Trump Administration, will be leaving the Commission after this week....more
Here's a handy summary of the federal employment laws that apply to vets.
In honor of Veterans Day, I'm republishing, with a few edits, a post I wrote in 2020 that summarizes the federal employment laws that apply to...more
Comments being accepted thru Dec. 5.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a draft Strategic Plan for 2022-26, and is inviting public comments through Monday, December 5....more
Minimum wage, unions, right to work, and legal weed.
Apart from the "red tsunami" that turned into a "red trickle" (if that), there were measures on many state ballots that will affect employers. Here are the highlights:...more
Fictional, but based on a true story.
It was a dark and stormy night.
There I was, the second shift HR supervisor, trying to renew my annual subscription to SHRM during some down time. It was about 9:30 p.m.
"Your credit...more
Not if I have anything to say about it.
Is it bad to apologize at work?
Rachel Feintzeig of the Wall Street Journal had a column this week saying we -- especially women, but all of us -- need to quit saying we're "sorry"...more
Two recent court decisions shed some light.
Two decisions in reverse discrimination cases came down this week from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In one case, a three-judge panel found in favor of the...more
Be the first employer on the block to have one!
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a new poster, intended to replace the old (as of yesterday) "Equal Employment Opportunity Is the Law" poster....more
The lawsuit that transformed Title VII is over.
Remember Gerald Bostock?
He filed suit against Clayton County, Georgia, alleging that he was fired because of his sexual orientation....more
Employers, know your limits.
As most of our readers know, for inappropriate behavior to be "sexual harassment,” it has to be "unwelcome" to the recipient....more
You DO want to be "with it," don't you?
The Daily Mail came out this week with a list of workplace emoji that Generation Z says are either offensive or totally uncool. And apparently Boomers aren't the only offenders....more
If so, what will that mean for employers?
Yesterday, President Biden announced that he was pardoning everyone who was criminally convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law. He's also asked state governors...more
10/7/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Pardons ,
Joe Biden ,
Marijuana ,
Presidential Pardons ,
Reasonable Accommodation