On July 2, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its proposed national heat standard, titled Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. In a preamble, OSHA, which...more
In some industries, worker shortages have caused employers to consider hiring 16- and 17-year-olds for non-hazardous occupations.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), in addition to establishing minimum wage and...more
Representation Rights Under the OSH Act -
On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its final rule re-interpreting Section 8(e) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH...more
On October 31, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal government agency that enforces workplace safety standards, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which enforces labor laws,...more
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department or DOL) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would raise the minimum salary floor required to qualify for the overtime exemptions for executive,...more
On July 27, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a Heat Hazard Alert, warning employers that it will carry out more inspections in “high-risk industries like construction and agriculture”...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued headline-grabbing decisions in which it split along ideological lines. But it was Thursday’s unanimous decision in Groff v. DeJoy (June 29, 2023), authored by Justice Samuel Alito,...more
7/5/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
Most employers are required to complete OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses for 2022 by Feb. 1, 2023, and to post it and keep it posted until April 30, 2023. The 300A log summarizes work-related...more
Holiday parties can be a fun way to show appreciation to employees for dedication and hard work. But they can also expose employers to liability for bad behavior resulting from alcohol consumption, including claims of sexual...more
Arbitration agreements, which aim to keep legal disputes between employees and employers out of the courts, are becoming more common. However, recent developments have led to significant shifts in how and where enforceable...more
On Dec. 17, 2021, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can enforce its emergency temporary standard (ETS) to...more
North Carolina and South Carolina enforce their own workplace safety and health plans. As “state plan states,” they are required to adopt regulations that are at least as effective as those adopted by the federal...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” The order directs more than a dozen federal agencies to address a wide range of competition-related issues. One...more
In 2020, non-exempt, hourly employees of Lowe’s sued the home improvement retailer under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for not including payment of a one-time bonus, and payment for time spent on charitable volunteer...more
As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prepares to authorize two COVID-19 vaccines for use, employers are asking if they can, and should, require that employees be vaccinated....more
On Sept. 16, 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that a “second wave of coronavirus infections” is “gather[ing] momentum across Europe,” but this time, “governments are determined to avoid large-scale lockdowns and instead...more
Under new OSHA guidance that goes into effect on May 26, 2020, employers covered by OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements must determine if an employee who contracts COVID-19 was infected while at work. According to the new...more
On January 7, 2020 OSHA used its Twitter account to remind covered employers to electronically submit the OSHA 300A summary for 2019 by no later than March 2, 2020. Covered employers for this purpose are those with...more
Workplace Safety And Summer Heat -
Summer temperatures can create hazards for workers, and employers can be liable for not addressing conditions that could lead to injuries and illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat...more
In December 2012, a “service coordinator” (similar to a community service worker and home health worker) employed by Integra Health Management Inc. was fatally stabbed during a home visit to one of the company’s clients....more
Holiday parties are a great way to show appreciation to employees for dedication and hard work. But they can also expose employers to liability for harm caused by employees who become intoxicated during the festivities....more
With Hurricane Florence threatening the Carolinas, this is a good time for employers to review their inclement weather policies and to make sure they properly compensate employees who miss work because of adverse weather....more
The S.C. Human Affairs Commission (SCHAC) has released an updated employment discrimination poster that summarizes the state’s new Pregnancy Accommodations Act as well as other provisions of the S.C. Human Affairs Law....more
Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it intends to delay for an unknown period of time the initial compliance deadline for electronic submission of injury and illness recordkeeping...more
Last weekend, the New York Times published an article titled “How Noncompete Clauses Keep Workers Locked In.” The article focused on low and middle level workers who were sued or had a hard time finding new jobs because they...more