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
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
"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
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
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
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
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
Everybody's favorite subject.
Last week, Karla Miller -- the workplace advice columnist of The Washington Post -- had a fascinating letter with this problem:
The letter writer is the only female working on a floor with...more
And, for that, we should be grateful.
This week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its guidance on COVID-19 and the laws that the agency enforces. In my opinion, it's pretty unremarkable....more
While still complying with the ADA.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued some helpful guidance on Friday related to employers' use of artificial intelligence and algorithms and the Americans with Disabilities...more
5/18/2022
/ Algorithms ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Documentation ,
Employee Training ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vendors ,
Wage and Hour
There was this disability discrimination issue . . .
An employer who shall remain nameless had a tradition of throwing a little birthday party for each of its employees on their special day.
The birthday of one employee...more
4/22/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Social Anxiety Disorder ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Violence
Second post in our series.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: Last month, I posted the first in what will be a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace.
I could not resist having religious...more
With emphasis on the pandemic.
On Monday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance on “caregiver discrimination” in the workplace. The guidance emphasizes pandemic-related issues, but it is not...more
From my blog inbox . . .
"DEAR ROBIN: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say that COVID-19 is not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR...more
I'm not sure the ADA will let you do that.
There has been a lot in the news lately about job applicants who include their COVID-19 vaccination status on their resumes, employers who ask applicants for that information, and...more
10/8/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Examinations ,
Medical History ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Idle speculation as employers await the actual guidance.
As you know, last week President Biden issued Executive Orders and a directive to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to require many, many employers...more
9/17/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Joe Biden ,
Labor Relations ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour
Happy days are here again!
How much do you know about summer workplace fun in '21? Take our quiz and find out! As always, the answers appear right after each question, so you can cheat all you want -- we'll never know. And...more
Just before the Memorial Day holiday, we had a “breaking news” bulletin about the revised guidance published Friday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about employers’ and employees’ rights when it came to...more
6/3/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Incentives ,
Personnel Records ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Employers, don't get played.
"This is an employment-at-will state, and I can fire you for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all."
Oh, yeah?...
...more
5/28/2021
/ At-Will Employment ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Due Process ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
Can employers breathe easy now?
Last Saturday, I went to the supermarket and did my weekly grocery shopping without a mask.
It was glorious! And completely legal!
But employers may not be as elated as I am, now that...more
5/21/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Incentives ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Test your knowledge about the FMLA, pregnancy bias, and more!
How much do you know about moms in the workplace . . . in 2021? Take our quiz and find out! As long as you are a mom, have a mom, love a mom, or know a mom, you...more
5/7/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
In Loco Parentis ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Maternity Leave ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations
Before the coming crackdown.
We expect federal agencies under the Biden Administration to move in a not-so-employer-friendly direction as soon as they have a chance to get settled in. While they're still settling in, this...more
4/16/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Caregivers ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
OSHA ,
Performance Reviews ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Videoconference ,
Workplace Safety
Bless this employer's heart.
Ten years ago or so, every employment lawyer and his sister was calling the interaction between workers' compensation, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
4/9/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Light-Duty Positions ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pregnancy Disability Leave Law ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury
Here are some suggestions for making it painless.
Although the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a feeling of "impending doom" about COVID-19, many employers are ready to get back to normal. ...more
4/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Telecommuting ,
Vaccinations
There's a new sheriff in town . . . . . .
so y'all better straighten up.
You probably know by now that the Biden Administration fired Sharon Fast Gustafson, the Trump-appointed General Counsel of the Equal Employment...more
3/12/2021
/ Age Discrimination ,
Biden Administration ,
EEO ,
EEOC General Counsel ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Joe Biden ,
Mediation ,
Medical Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination