Voters decided more than just who would be the next President and who would be in Congress this Election Day – they also voted on a slew of state ballot measures that aimed to change your workplace. Here’s a recap of the most...more
11/8/2024
/ Ballot Measures ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Protection ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Recreational Use ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Voters will be deciding more than just who will capture the White House and Congress this Election Day – they’ll also be voting on a slew of state ballot measures that could change your workplace. How can you prepare? Read...more
When Taylor Swift revealed the track list for “The Tortured Poets Department” – a new album she’ll release on April 19 – fans immediately began theorizing about what might have inspired each song. While your #FPSwifties live...more
4/12/2024
/ Ban the Box ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Notice Requirements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Remote Working ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Romances
Love is in the air on Valentine’s Day – and according to recent research, it has likely found its way to your workplace. Even with the rise of remote work, office romances are commonplace, which illustrates the importance of...more
While we respect Taylor Swift’s accomplishments for so many reasons, your #FPSwifties particularly admire Ms. Swift as an employer. From employee appreciation (those legendary tour bonuses sound really nice!) to her...more
The Supreme Court was seemingly set to decide whether and when a party can assert attorney-client privilege protection over communications containing both legal and non-legal advice, but SCOTUS recently decided to bypass the...more
The Supreme Court just heard arguments in a case that could transform the way in-house and outside attorneys communicate with their clients every single day. The issue before SCOTUS in the case of In re Grand Jury is whether...more
The kids call it “quiet quitting” – but ironically it’s become a very loud social media movement among Gen Z, Millennials, and more. The term itself – which many who support the movement adamantly disagree with as a label –...more
The nation’s federal health authorities marked the next chapter of the pandemic yesterday by significantly loosening many COVID-19 recommendations – including dropping the “six-foot” social distancing rule – thereby...more
8/12/2022
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
After the news yesterday that a federal court judge struck down the CDC’s mask mandate for airplanes, mass transportation, and transit hubs, many employers immediately wondered what it might mean for their business. Though...more
4/19/2022
/ Airlines ,
Business Travel ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
Public Health ,
Transportation Industry ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Safety
Employers need to be especially on guard for the possibility that they may be hit with a vaccine-related EEOC charge, given than nearly half of all pandemic-related charges filed with the agency since December involve a...more
4/12/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Caregivers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
In a surprise move, the Supreme Court failed to resolve either of the two pending workplace vaccine cases yesterday morning despite having announced a special decision day that led most Court observers to think that yesterday...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Perhaps no workplace law issue has generated more controversy in recent memory than the battle over the Biden administration’s vaccine rules currently being waged at the Supreme Court. The good news? By accelerating the...more
1/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In a terse 22-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its preliminary stay that blocked the mandate-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) late Friday, further complicating the status of...more
Federal workplace safety officials just released the mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule, and employers are sure to have questions. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) developed by the Occupational Safety and...more
11/5/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
As employers implement their own internal COVID-19 protocols and procedures, many have the additional burden of complying with third-party vaccine policies or enforcing their own vaccine policies upon non-employees such as...more
10/27/2021
/ Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customers ,
Documentation ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Public Accommodation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Temporary Employees ,
Vaccinations ,
Vendors ,
Visitors ,
Workplace Safety
While employers anxiously await the impending OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard that will require those with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing, many...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in conjunction with the Biden administration’s initiative to combat climate change, announced Monday that it will be taking enhanced and expanded efforts to address...more
In arguably the most far-reaching move of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration announced Thursday that federal workplace safety officials will soon issue a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more...more
Missouri employers should take note that two bills recently signed into law by Governor Mike Parson that impose new employee leave obligations but also provide a liability shield for employers when it comes to pandemic...more
9/10/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
New Legislation ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) ,
Workplace Safety
As the Delta variant surges throughout the country, more and more employers are implementing mandatory vaccine policies, especially now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full FDA approval. Most employers know they may need...more
8/26/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The news this morning that the federal government fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could be a pivotal milestone in the fight against the coronavirus – especially when it comes to employers’ role in the battle. After...more
In response to the surge of delta variant cases across the country, federal workplace safety officials just issued updated guidance to help employers and workers identify current COVID-19 risks for unvaccinated or otherwise...more
8/16/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
High Risk Covid Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
As more businesses are requiring proof of vaccination for their employees and customers, a question that often arises is whether it is lawful to ask an applicant about their vaccine status. While we are generally hesitant...more
Although the COVID-19 vaccines are expected to receive full FDA approval – perhaps as soon as later this month – an increasing number of businesses are not waiting for full authorization and are pressing forward to require...more