What happens when an employee starts yelling at the boss, makes profane social media posts about work, or engages in other “abusive conduct?” In many cases, employers can follow their own policy and impose discipline if...more
Dear QQ:
I am the HR Director for a technology company. We have offices in three states and hire employees from all over the country. Since 2020 we have let employees work remotely from the state of their choice. I’ve...more
9/23/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Disclosure ,
Executive Orders ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Single Employer Liability Test ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transparency ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Lately, litigation news related to public and private workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandates has quieted. That changed last Friday, when the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed a nationwide injunction against the...more
9/2/2022
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Injunctions ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On December 17, 2021, a three-judge panel for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (with one judge dissenting) lifted the nationwide temporary stay of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency...more
12/21/2021
/ Appeals ,
Case Consolidation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance Dates ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Order to Lift Stay ,
OSHA ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On November 12, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its stay pending judicial review of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary...more
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published their much-anticipated rules mandating COVID-19 vaccinations. ...more
11/9/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Guidance ,
Physicians ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Stays ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Employers with 100 or more employees should continue to develop policies requiring workers either to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to submit to weekly testing and other safety requirements, in the expectation that...more
11/9/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced its new COVID-19 Action Plan (the “Action Plan”), which outlines a six-pronged approach to combat the pandemic. The wide-ranging Action Plan lays out plans to vaccinate...more
9/14/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Private Sector ,
Subcontractors ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Tribal Governments ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
With the December 31, 2020 expiration of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) fast approaching, on December 28 President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “CAA”). Although...more
On November 18, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued Emergency Executive Order (EO) 20-99, “Implementing a Four Week Dial Back on Certain Activities to Slow the Spread of COVID-19” (the “Order”) to address the recent...more
Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the “severe-or-pervasive” framework used to rule on sexual harassment claims, but instructed lower courts to determine what is severe or pervasive in light of today’s definition of...more
While COVID-19 has forced the closure of schools across the country, the United States Department of Education (“ED”) has issued much-anticipated rule that will impose significant new obligations for schools - in particular,...more
5/12/2020
/ Colleges ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Investigations ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
Since the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) was passed into law on March 18, 2020, crucial questions about the Act’s requirements have remained unanswered. Yesterday (on March 26, 2020), the United States...more
The Department of Labor issued its third set of guidance explaining the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Its latest iteration of FAQs clarifies that “health care providers” actually has two different meanings...more
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or the “Act”), which goes into effect on April 1, 2020, provides that certain “health care providers and emergency responders” may be excluded from application of the Act’s...more
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or “Board”) makes it easier for employers to change workplace rules without discussing the change with the union representing their employees.
As...more
9/13/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unilateral Modification ,
Unions
In a widely anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision today in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis; Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris; and National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., upholding...more
5/22/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
Institutions and organizations are increasingly expected to conduct a thorough, neutral investigation of allegations of impropriety, misuse of authority, and sexual harassment, among many other issues. No organization, public...more
Social media has created a minefield of concerns for both employees and employers. The news is full of stories of employees documenting their questionable off-duty conduct on social media, or posting comments containing...more
Social media has created a minefield of concerns for both employees and employers. The news is full of stories of employees documenting their questionable off-duty conduct on social media, or posting comments containing...more
11/13/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Facebook ,
Hate Speech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Political Expression ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Social Networks ,
Termination ,
Twitter
Use of profanity by employees, whether in the workplace, outside the workplace, or on social media, presents difficult legal issues for the employer, as highlighted by a recent Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision...more
The U.S. Supreme Court decided today to consider related cases addressing whether arbitration agreements containing class action waivers violate employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).
The...more
Question: I am a manager in a medium-sized retailer that has locations and employees in 16 states. The company maintains a social media policy, which was recently updated. ...more
5/25/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Discipline ,
Facebook ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Twitter
Discrimination in health care was prohibited before the Affordable Care Act, but on a limited basis. Protected classes did not include sex; prohibitions excluded private physicians accepting Medicare Part B; and, most...more
3/29/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Disparate Impact ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Private Right of Action ,
Protected Class ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Transgender
Employees have increasingly voiced concerns on social media regarding their employment, often including specific statements about their employers. As previously discussed on this blog, an employee’s Facebook post related to...more
3/28/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Facebook ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
Wages ,
Working Conditions