In last year’s Young decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found that an employer could not exclude pregnant employees from participation in a light duty work program absent demonstration of significant burdens that would result...more
For more than a half-century, Department of Labor regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act have allowed employers to adopt an administrative rounding policy to prevent situations where the employer would be...more
Title VII allows federal courts to award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in discrimination suits. While plaintiffs typically receive their fees if they win a discrimination or retaliation claim, defendants can also...more
Most hostile environment harassment claims brought under Title VII involve allegations of offensive conduct by the plaintiff’s supervisors or co-workers. In a few situations, the employee alleges that his or her subordinates...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from refusing to hire qualified individuals with a disability on the basis of their condition, if they can perform the essential functions of the job with or without...more
5/18/2016
/ Administrative Remedies ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Essential Functions ,
FMCSA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Examinations ,
Popular ,
Remand ,
Reversal
The Supreme Court’s 2006 Burlington Northern decision concluded that employers engage in retaliation against protected employees when they take action that would deter a reasonable person from filing an EEOC charge or...more
5/17/2016
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Burlington Northern ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Remand ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Title VII
South Carolina courts evaluate the enforceability of non-compete provisions executed in the employment context and in connection with the sale of the business under the same reasonableness test. To be enforceable in South...more
5/11/2016
/ Buyers ,
Consideration ,
Contract Drafting ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Legitimate Business Interest ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Reversal ,
Sellers ,
Void and Unenforceable
The Fair Labor Standards Act contains regulations explaining when time spent by new employees training for their jobs is compensable working time. In most circumstances, the employer must pay trainees for time spent learning...more
Employers frequently offer light duty work as a means for injured employees to return to their regular job duties. Light duty is typically associated with employees with Workers’ Compensation related injuries. ...more
In 2009’s Crawford decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that an employee who participates in an employer’s harassment or discrimination investigation as a third-party witness, falls within federal anti-retaliation...more
The Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act significantly broadened the definition of protected disabled individuals under federal antidiscrimination law. In subsequent rules implementing ADAAA, the Equal Employment...more
4/13/2016
/ ADAAA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Mercedes-Benz ,
Over-Time ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Young v United Parcel Service
Before filing suit alleging discrimination, Title VII requires plaintiffs to file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the plaintiff files an EEOC charge, but includes claims in his...more
In last year’s Mach Mining decision, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is required to attempt to settle (“conciliate”) discrimination claims before bringing suit against...more
When it comes to modifying the terms of a non-competition agreement deemed overbroad or unreasonable, North Carolina has long held to the blue pencil rule. Unlike many other states, North Carolina judges do not have the...more
Most employers would assume that a traveling salesperson who could no longer drive due to a medical condition cannot perform the essential functions of her job. The Americans with Disabilities Act only requires accommodations...more
Over the past several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued several employers, claiming that their failure to explicitly advise employees that releases provided in conjunction with severance benefits...more
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are liable for payment of overtime to covered employees. This requirement applies to time that is not specifically authorized by the employer if it is “suffered,” meaning that the...more
As litigation and administrative investigations of misclassification of employees for overtime purposes have grown, employers have increasingly turned to alternative methods of pay intended to reduce their overtime...more
Plaintiffs seeking compensation for sexual harassment must demonstrate that they were subjected to a hostile and offensive working environment. Plaintiffs in same-sex harassment claims have the additional burden of proving...more
Employers investigating allegations of workplace harassment sometimes receive explanations from the accused parties that they never meant to cause distress to the complaining employee. They justify their behavior as joking or...more
Title VII prohibits discrimination based on gender. Employers generally cannot adopt different qualification standards for men and women for the same job. However in some circumstances, federal courts have recognized that...more
OSHA inspections are usually site-specific, meaning that the agency’s authority to issue penalties and to seek abatement of workplace hazards applies to the workplace actually inspected. Last month, a federal Administrative...more
In recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and federal courts across the U.S. have increasingly agreed that discrimination against transgendered employees is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII....more
Over the past several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken a decidedly more aggressive position with regard to litigation against employers accused of discrimination. The EEOC has brought a number of...more
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects employees’ rights to engage in “concerted activity.” Concerted activity means persons acting on behalf of two or more employees with regard to issues involving terms and...more