This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2024, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
8/6/2024
/ Business Closures ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
The Supreme Court just upended the legal world by significantly reducing the power of federal regulators and placing more authority in the hands of judges – a move that will have a major impact on workplace regulations for...more
When employers implement arbitration programs, they expect employees to file covered claims in arbitration – but employees often file those claims in court anyway. So, when an employee brings a claim to the courthouse that is...more
An appeals court just ruled that pizza companies do not need to use the Internal Revenue Service’s standard mileage rate when reimbursing their delivery drivers for the actual costs of using their vehicles for work. In...more
A scroll through social media will quickly reveal that we’re in a new workplace era where the stigma attached to being fired or laid off is waning and many people are seeking solidarity online. In recent viral posts on...more
2/16/2024
/ Confidentiality Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
Layoffs ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Social Media Policy ,
Video Recordings
The Supreme Court is set to shake up the workplace world by taking away a great deal of power from federal agencies – including the regulators who oversee many of the nation’s labor and employment laws. That’s according to...more
2/2/2024
/ ADEA ,
Affirmative Action ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2023, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
8/28/2023
/ Business Closures ,
Disaster Aid ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Employers seeking to move workplace claims from the courthouse to arbitration received some good news Friday from the U.S. Supreme Court. If a trial court denies a party’s request to compel arbitration, the court must pause...more
6/26/2023
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Coinbase ,
Coinbase Inc v Bielski ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
SCOTUS ,
Unconscionable Contracts
You may have recently made the difficult decision to reduce your workforce, and you still have some tough choices ahead regarding how to handle the details. Perhaps the most important decisions will involve how you chose to...more
Employers using or thinking about using artificial intelligence (AI) to aid with workplace tasks received another reminder from the federal government that their actions will be closely scrutinized by the EEOC for possible...more
Employers that face lawsuits from employees often seek to move such claims from the courthouse to arbitration. But what happens if the trial court refuses to compel arbitration and the employer appeals the decision? Should...more
5/15/2023
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Coinbase ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
Oral Argument ,
SCOTUS ,
Unconscionable Contracts
Given the myriad ways artificial intelligence is now being used to streamline business processes, it’s no surprise that federal agencies are scrutinizing potential employment-related biases that can arise from using AI and...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years — and this past...more
5/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Mental Health ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS
Employers that face lawsuits from employees often seek to move such claims from the courthouse to arbitration. But what happens if the trial court refuses to compel arbitration and the employer appeals the decision? Should...more
This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2022, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
9/9/2022
/ Business Closures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
As we predicted, on February 10, 2022, Congress passed the "Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act" (the Act) with strong bipartisan support, thus amending the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to...more
Despite being described as “more deeply divided than ever,” Congress is poised to pass a #MeToo-inspired bill with bipartisan support that would prevent employers from enforcing pre-dispute arbitration agreements without the...more
Over the past several years, many federal courts have weighed in on whether a key Supreme Court decision requires them to dismiss non-resident opt-in plaintiffs in federal wage and hour collective actions, and there is now...more
2/10/2022
/ Appeals ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co v Superior Court of California - San Francisco County ,
Collective Actions ,
Dismissals ,
Due Process ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Forum Shopping ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Non-Residents ,
Opt-In ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Specific Jurisdiction ,
Split of Authority ,
Wage and Hour
The application of a key Supreme Court decision remains an important issue for multi-state employers defending federal collective action wage and hour claims – but are we any closer to getting clarity on what remains a...more
On the heels of last week’s Executive Order by President Biden calling for an immediate increase in the minimum wage for federal government employees and federal contractors, Democratic lawmakers in Congress have proposed a...more
As more and more businesses plan their re-openings heading into the summer months, many employers are trying to determine how to handle employee requests for leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)...more
The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce recently announced two important updates relating to unemployment insurance benefits that all employers will want to familiarize themselves with. First, the agency...more
It took less than a month for the plaintiffs’ bar to seize upon what is likely to be the first of many COVID-19-related class action lawsuits alleging violations of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, also...more
In an apparent effort to ease some of the anxieties surrounding the impact of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on employers, the Department of Treasury, IRS, and Department of Labor issued a press release on...more
Among other challenges in the last week, California employers have grappled with important issues relating to reducing their workforces: Are we subject to the state and federal laws requiring advance notice of layoffs? If so,...more