For years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and federal courts have acknowledged that employers do not have to excuse employee disciplinary violations because the employee later attributes such conduct to a...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not require employers to agree to allow employees to work from home based on medical restrictions. The Americans with Disabilities Act may require employers to provide such...more
In its December Vaughn decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that plaintiffs in age discrimination cases may not collect compensatory or punitive damages. The court based its decision on its interpretation of...more
In recent years, college athletes have made multiple attempts to gain protection under various federal labor laws. For example, the NLRB recently rejected an attempt by football players at Northwestern to unionize....more
For a number of years, federal courts have agreed that plaintiffs in disparate treatment age discrimination claims may demonstrate bias based on the employer favoring younger workers who still fall into the protected...more
Most of the recent legal controversy over employer enforcement of social media policies has involved employees’ concerted activity rights under the National Labor Relations Act. However, a recent case from the Fourth Circuit...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted review of a case that should decide whether employers can include class and collective action waivers in mandatory arbitration agreements signed with individual employees. Under...more
A client recently asked us to draft a non-competition agreement that would prevent entry level machinists from working for a competitor for one year following their departure from employment. When we asked the client about...more
Last year in its Encino Motorcars decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ reliance on a Department of Labor (DOL) interpretation finding that automobile dealership service advisors do not...more
On January 1, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new recordkeeping and reporting rule took effect. The main impact of this rule requires employers to electronically file annual injury and...more
Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed its earlier position that compensatory and punitive damages are not available to plaintiffs who allege violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)....more
Emails can simultaneously be considered a tremendous leap in business efficiency, as well as the bane of many employees’ existence. In December, the French government took action to untie employees from their cell phones and...more
The policy seemed straightforward. A hospital required all employees to receive seasonal flu vaccinations based on its assessment of the dangers of influenza to patients with compromised immune systems. The hospital went...more
On December 7, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input for a possible future safety standard intended to reduce employee exposure to...more
Many employers are approaching the time when annual incentive bonuses are calculated and paid to employees. For non-exempt employees subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must...more
Despite the calling of a special legislative session for the purpose of repealing North Carolina’s HB2 legislations, the General Assembly recently rejected attempts to remove the 2016 law. The initial agreement among...more
A federal district court’s unanticipated injunction on November 22 blocked the planned December 1 implementation date for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) increased minimum salary required to claim most exemptions from the...more
For years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken the administrative position that if a disabled employee can no longer perform his or her job, the employer must place that employee in a vacant position...more
The Jimmy John’s sandwich chain recently settled state law claims in Illinois relating to its former requirement that hourly restaurant employees sign non-competition agreements that prohibit them from working for a competing...more
At least for now, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues its assault on employer social media policies. In a recent Board decision, G4S Secure Solutions (USA), Inc., the majority declared a variety of policies...more
In 2012, Congress directed the Department of Transportation to establish a national clearinghouse containing Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) operators’ violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s drug and...more
Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released an updated Enforcement Guidance on national origin discrimination under Title VII. The Guidance is used by EEOC investigators to help determine whether a...more
Over the past decade, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reported a steady decline in the number of reported workplace injuries and illnesses in the U.S. Initially, the agency attributed this drop to...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) only requires employers to provide accommodations that allow the disabled employee or applicant to perform the essential functions of the job. The employer is not required to shift or...more
Title VII’s discrimination prohibitions include actions taken against white employees based on their race. Last month in an unusual, unpublished decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that reverse...more