There has been a lot of talk about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). So, where are we now? What do you need to know? This newsletter provides a snapshot of what it took to get the PWFA and its regulations finalized,...more
8/29/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII
Can you prohibit your employees from bringing firearms to your workplace? You may think the answer is yes, but it’s more complicated. Recent state laws on gun rights have raised questions regarding guns at work. Here we will...more
7/5/2024
/ Alabama ,
Concealed Carry Permit ,
Concealed Weapons ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer No-Weapons Policies ,
Employment Policies ,
Firearms ,
Gun Laws ,
Louisiana ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Workplace Violence
Personnel files, employee files, employee records… no matter what you call them, you probably know they are important. But why, exactly? Below is a refresher on the importance of personnel files and best practices for...more
2023 has brought many updates and changes to the legal landscape. Our blog posts have covered many of them, but you may not remember (or care to remember) them. Before moving on to 2024, let’s take a moment to review our top...more
12/29/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare ,
Income Taxes ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations
When is driving an essential function of a job? What if the employee drives herself to customers’ homes to provide services and now wants to use alternative modes of transportation? What if the employee’s request is because...more
If you use non-competes, make sure you complete all the steps to make them enforceable. It may be your practice to ask the employee to sign it and then not sign it yourself. While we seldom see challenges to this practice,...more
As we barrel into 2023, it is worth a look back at last year. Employment law issues in 2022 were diverse, ranging from federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates (yes, that was last year) to state laws on CBD and diversity and...more
1/4/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabis Products ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Mandates ,
Hemp ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Stop Woke Act ,
Vaccinations
This country’s relationship with cannabis is a complicated one, and as is often the case in complicated matters, words matter. Marijuana and hemp are different strains of the Cannabis sativa L plant. So, “cannabis” is a...more
7/11/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Blue Cross ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Drug Testing ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hemp ,
Job Descriptions ,
Marijuana ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Termination
Most employers know the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as the law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and requires reasonable accommodations of employees’ disabilities. However, this prohibition is...more
6/30/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Public Accommodation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title I ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
For almost two years now, employers have been tackling the issues surrounding COVID-19. Not surprisingly most questions centered on COVID-19-specific leave, OSHA reporting requirements, and vaccines. Now, the EEOC has chimed...more
We’ve been talking a lot about COVID-19 lately and, in particular, the various regulations and guidance that have come out regarding an employer’s day-to-day responsibilities: Can you require employees to take the vaccine?...more
10/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently reiterated the importance of engaging in the interactive process with employees seeking disability accommodations. This case serves as a helpful reminder,...more
It feels like ages ago when the COVID-19 vaccination first rolled out, and employers were scrambling with questions. But look how far we’ve come! Now, with many states easing (or eliminating) COVID-19 restrictions and opening...more