We previously reported a growing number of questions from employers involving employees who have tested positive for marijuana and who claimed the positive test resulted from their use of legal CBD products. Last week, the...more
The Department of Labor’s decision to significantly increase the minimum salary required to claim the so-called white-collar exemptions from federal overtime requirements has prompted legal challenges from employers. ...more
8/16/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers attempting to enforce safety policies faced resistance from employees opposed to vaccination mandates. In many cases, employees claimed that taking the vaccine violated...more
Over the past year, we have encountered a growing number of claims raised by applicants and employees who allege that positive drug test results for marijuana were actually the result of their use of legal hemp products...more
In recent years, a number of states and municipalities have adopted measures that restrict employers’ ability to base a new hire’s starting salary on what they made in their prior job. In the past, it was common for...more
4/5/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
The National Labor Relations Act’s employee protections extend beyond unionized workplaces or those undergoing organizing activities. Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who...more
3/29/2024
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Home Health Care ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Termination
During the COVID-19 pandemic and afterwards, employers have faced a growing number of requests for remote work arrangements based on a medical disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to grant...more
2/16/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Essential Functions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Telecommuting
Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims from a university professor that she had been subjected to a series of retaliatory acts in the two- and one-half year period following her filing an Equal...more
When facing requests from a qualified disabled worker, the Americans with Disabilities Act allows employers to choose an effective accommodation, even if it is not the one preferred by the employee. Earlier this week, the...more
When does an employee’s request for accommodations not fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act? According to a decision this week from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina,...more
As we have previously covered in EmployNews, companies are facing an increasing number of accommodation requests and claims from employees who allege they were discriminated against based on mental issues. Many of these...more
Last week, a federal judge in Michigan ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest and imprison a home healthcare agency owner who repeatedly defied a U.S. Department of Labor demand that she provide pay records as part of a...more
12/8/2023
/ Contempt ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Payroll Records ,
Prison ,
Subpoenas
A number of vendors are promoting artificial intelligence-based software for use in applicant screening and hiring. These tools promise to automate parts of the hiring process and to streamline the review of applicant...more
11/6/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Bias ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Polygraph Tests ,
Protected Class
Litigation over employment issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic is finally reaching the trial and appellate courts. This week, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit from a warehouse manager...more
Under constitutional law, the nondelegation doctrine prevents Congress from adopting laws that give administrative agencies overly broad discretion to adopt regulations that usurp its legislative authority. Recently, the...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require employers to ignore or excuse serious violations of their rules of conduct. For example, an employee who brings a weapon to work in violation of the employer’s policy...more
9/1/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
PTSD ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wrongful Termination
We often hear claims from employees who threaten to sue their employer for creating a “hostile work environment.” When we dig into the complaints, often the employee is alleging that their manager is mean or unfair to them,...more
8/25/2023
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Race Discrimination ,
Title VII
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations that allow disabled employees to perform the essential functions of their jobs. Over the years, federal appellate courts have reached...more
Employers considering layoffs or other restructurings should carefully develop a plan for evaluating and selecting employees who will be affected by the changes. In many situations, age discrimination claims become a major...more
President Biden recently announced that the national emergency relating to the COVID-19 pandemic will end on May 11, 2023. This move may result in unexpected tax issues for employers with remote workers in states where they...more
Many employers faced with large potential overtime costs elect to implement the fluctuating workweek pay plan for non-exempt workers. Under Department of Labor regulations, employers can pay a guaranteed salary for all hours...more
When an employer presents a separation agreement and release to an employee out of work for medical reasons, questions sometimes arise regarding that person’s ability to understand and competently execute the document. If an...more
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that may determine whether employers can claim the overtime exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for highly compensated workers who are not paid...more
11/18/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc v Hewitt No 21-984 ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Oral Argument ,
Over-Time ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
In recent months, EmployNews has reported on the dramatic increase in penalties assessed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in situations where the agency believes that employers are not...more
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers were understandably concerned that regardless of the measures taken to prevent workplace infections, employees could still place co-workers and third parties in...more