Don't rely on it too much -- yet.
We recently got our first federal court decision addressing whether an employer had the right to require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The court's answer was yes...
...more
7/2/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Act ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Popular ,
Pregnancy ,
Religious Exemption ,
Suspensions ,
Termination ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Mere "misuse" of information is not enough.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided yesterday that a criminal conviction under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act cannot be based merely on misusing information obtained through a...more
6/4/2021
/ Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Confidential Information ,
Databases ,
FBI ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Police ,
SCOTUS ,
Termination ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unauthorized Access ,
Van Buren v United States
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
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
The latest.
President Joe Biden has nominated Jennifer Abruzzo, special counsel with the Communication Workers of America union, to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. This is the position that was...more
Should the employer force the issue?
You Human Resources professionals are familiar with this scenario.
You are present while a supervisor is disciplining an employee. The supervisor has a write-up, pre-approved by you, and...more
Welcome to the future.
With the dramatic changes in acceptance of medical and even recreational marijuana, employers need to take a fresh look at the way they maintain drug-free workplaces. Here are some tips for surviving...more
Employers make their own luck.
When it comes to terminations of employment, are you lucky or unlucky? Take our quiz and find out! As always, the answers appear after each question, so you can cheat all you want, and we'll...more
Through the miracle of virtual reality.
Do you feel awkward when you have to fire an employee? Guilty? Nervous? Gleeful, you sick person?...more
How can I sue thee? Let me count the ways.
Last week, I talked about five very basic things employers do to get themselves embroiled in employment litigation. They were-
Discrimination (not only unlawful discrimination, but...more
7/26/2019
/ Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour
Eww.
In Canada, sex addiction is apparently not a disability. (Whether it is under the Americans with Disabilities Act remains to be seen, but I don't think so.)
A labor arbitrator has upheld the termination of an employee...more
A new lawsuit filed by the EEOC is a good guide for employers on what not to do.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in New York against a group of senior care and...more
Paul Flart, former hospital cop and current Instagram sensation.
Doug, stage name "Paul Flart," made himself a star by recording himself passing gas while at work as a hospital security guard. But Mr. Flart apparently made...more
And the ex-employee gets a jury trial.
A federal court denied summary judgment to an employer in a failure-to-accommodate case brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Oregon state law, and the case is chock...more
I'm don't quite agree with the legal analysis, but I agree with the principle.
This week, Greg Giangrande, @Work advice columnist for the New York Post, had a situation that drives me crazy as an employer's lawyer. ...more
Whenever I think I've heard everything, I hear something else.
A federal judge allowed a wrongful discharge lawsuit to go forward, and the dispute is about bed bugs....more
How much do you know about this old legal concept?
Happy Memorial Day weekend, everybody! Before you head off to your holiday festivities or observances, you can test your knowledge about "employment at will."...more
Employees talk about why they were fired. Here are the parts they may have left out.
Our old friend, the Daily Mail, had an article this week about a Whisper thread in which employees talked about the crazy reasons their...more
Have I missed any?
A recent poll of 2,000 American workers said that people have an average of about 60 bad days a year.
(People actually keep track of such things? And, define "bad.")
Of those 60-some bad days a year, 80...more
It's possible to discriminate against someone of your own faith. And illegal.
Carl Smith, a Catholic, was a trainee in Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspection. ...more
See how you do with these guaranteed true news items from the last week, all relating to employment law. Then tell me whether you agree that we are living in some crazy times. YCMTSU.*
*You Can’t Make This Stuff Up. (I think...more
The month of August was not kind to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC’s wellness regulations were shot down by a federal court in the District of Columbia, and earlier this week the agency was told that it...more
In New York, if you’re fired for being too cute, your boss may be guilty of gender discrimination.
In a case where it sounds like we are hearing only half of the story, a yoga and massage therapist claimed that her...more
If you’re a private sector employer, you can generally fire an at-will employee for his or her political beliefs or expression. The First Amendment, as we discussed last week, does not limit you. Depending on where you are,...more