May 20, 2024, marked the end of the legislative session for yet another historic and busy year for Minnesota’s legislature. Amidst endless shouting, a sprawling 1,400-plus-page omnibus bill, and ethical complaints, the...more
The 2024 Minnesota legislative session did not produce nearly as many significant pieces of employment legislation as the 2023 session. Still, this legislature passed multiple new employment laws this year and amended several...more
Even if “somnambulism” is a disability, an employee who sleepwalks uninvited into the hotel room of her co-worker has no protection, according to a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit....more
In Zupcic v Saputo Foods Limited, 2022 AHRC 13 (Saputo), the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta (Tribunal) dismissed an employee’s complaint that that she was discriminated against in employment on the ground of her physical...more
A recent case provides a refresher step-by-step guide on the requirements of a lawfully administered disability accommodation policy under the Missouri Human Right Act. In Loerch v. City of Union, No. ED. 109707, (Mo. App....more
Since the release of government-approved vaccines to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, employers have been wrestling with how to implement vaccination policies in the workplace. For those employers who have implemented a...more
Effective July 1, 2021, Virginia further expands the scope of the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. The state also enacted protections and benefits for domestic workers...more
A change in state law that takes effect this month now requires New York residential landlords to distribute disability accommodation notices to all current tenants by April 1, 2021, and to all new tenants within 30 days of...more
In Burnett v. Ocean Properties, Ltd., et al., the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict for the plaintiff in his failure to accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Maine Human...more
The 2021 Virginia General Assembly Special Session wrapped up earlier this month with a number of changes that will impact employers. Among the bills that have been signed into law is HB 1848, which amends the Virginia Human...more
In Harrisburg Area Community College v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, No. 654 C.D. 2019, (October 29, 2020), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently examined the interaction between Pennsylvania’s Medical...more
The labor and employment law revolution in the Commonwealth of Virginia has provided robust protection against unlawful discrimination as well as a comprehensive enforcement scheme. As part of that revolution, the state...more
For months, Virginia employers have heard about the new wave of employee-friendly legislation that will create additional costs and challenges for Virginia employers. Today, as Virginia enters Phase 3 of its reopening plan,...more
In the wake of Virginia voting in Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature last year, the Virginia legislature has passed, and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed into law, a slew of new measures...more
Under Missouri law, a request for accommodation cannot serve as the basis for a retaliation claim. Last month, the Supreme Court of Missouri issued a unanimous opinion in Lin v. Ellis, No. SC97641, 2020 WL 203145, at *5, —...more
Key Points- To assert a claim of discrimination based on retaliation under the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) an employee must engage in a protected activity in which the employee opposes a practice prohibited under the...more
Lawmakers in Maine closed out the 2019 legislative session with a flurry of activity. Legislators passed more than 500 bills this year, including 50 on the final day, with many targeting the state’s employment laws....more
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently issued two decisions affecting employers in the state. In one, the high court overruled a 30-year-old precedent that excluded disabilities covered by the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation...more
In a failure to accommodate claim under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“the MHRA”), a federal judge granted summary judgment for the employer, finding the employee’s after-the-fact explanation of his misconduct was not a...more
A recent amendment (Public Act 100-0100) to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) makes clear that employers in Illinois may have dress codes or grooming policies for the purposes of maintaining workplace safety or food...more