In this special 150th podcast episode, Michael Schmidt is joined by his Cozen O'Connor colleagues David Barron and Jim Gale to discuss what is left of the FTC noncompete rule, if anything, and what employers should be doing...more
In today's episode, Michael Schmidt offers the takeaways from the Supreme Court's June 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and is joined by his Cozen O'Connor colleagues for a roundtable discussion on the impact of...more
On October 11, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order No. GA-40 placing restrictions on any entity (including private employers) from issuing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, subject to legislative action. It is...more
10/14/2021
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Abbott ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On June 10, 2021, OSHA issued updated COVID-19 guidance for all employers, along with its much awaited emergency temporary standard focused on health care workers. Importantly, OSHA continued in the footsteps of the CDC in...more
6/16/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Mandatory vaccination policies have long been common in the health care field with respect to illnesses like measles and the flu, but have not been implemented on a wide spread basis. To date, courts have generally found such...more
1/22/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The latest projections estimate that nearly 300,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 by the end of 2020. Many of those individuals will be employed when they contract the virus, and a significant number will be workers in...more
In today's episode, Mike Schmidt is joined by his Cozen O'Connor colleagues Howard Schweitzer (public strategies/gov't relations) and David Barron (labor and employment) to discuss what the next federal stimulus legislation...more
Many employers are wondering about what they can do to protect their workforce in the face of an unprecedented public health crisis associated with the coronavirus a/k/a COVID-19....more
3/16/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Examinations ,
Medical Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Safety
With the outbreak of the corona virus dominating headlines, it is a great time to dust off the company policy on dealing with flu season and infectious diseases, generally, in the workplace. Contagious diseases are...more
1/24/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Flu Shot Rule ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Influenza ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Texas has largely avoided the wave of marijuana legalization sweeping the country and the accompanying legal complications that have come along for the ride. Those days may be numbered as the Texas Legislature recently passed...more
9/5/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hemp ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Foods ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Plant Based Products ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
It’s hurricane season, and companies all along the Gulf should have a plan in place not only to address business continuity issues, but also the human resources and staffing questions that arise in the event of a natural...more
7/1/2019
/ Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Hurricane Season ,
Natural Disasters ,
On-Call Employees ,
Risk Management ,
Volunteers ,
Wage and Hour
At the beginning of the Texas Legislature session this year, it seemed like a slam dunk that conservative lawmakers would stop Austin and other cities in their tracks in their efforts to pass employment laws like mandatory...more
4/11/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Although one can never be fully prepared for a natural disaster, it is important to be aware of the federal and state laws implicated in such situations. With hurricane season in full swing and in the aftermath of Hurricane...more
San Antonio City Council approved a Paid Sick Leave Ordinance on Thursday, August 16, 2018, which allows workers to accrue up to 64 hours of paid sick leave each year. This law largely tracks the recent Austin sick pay...more
One of the benefits of the recent #Metoo movement is that companies in every industry are rethinking not only employment policies, but their approach to training and organizational culture. I was recently interviewed for an...more
3/19/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII
The #MeToo movement started as a wave of press coverage exposing long-suppressed stories of sexual harassment and exploitation in Hollywood. That movement, however, has now gone far beyond Harvey Weinstein. ...more
2/5/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Internal Investigations ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII ,
Tone At The Top
Just like the infamous line that Congress had to pass the Affordable Care Act to know what was in it, it seems we had to pass the new tax law to find out all of the hidden surprises. One item that received little publicity...more
It’s that time of year again. You know the one. Supervisors hurriedly completing performance evaluations at the last minute to avoid nasty emails from the HR Department about missed deadlines. Sound familiar? If so, your...more
The Harvey Weinstein case has brought a spotlight to a problem that has plagued not only Hollywood but other professions as well. While Corporate America has largely cleaned up its act and instituted robust anti-harassment...more
A recent article about a study on the effectiveness of sexual harassment training caught my eye. The article explains: “Some researchers believe trainings have no positive effects, tend to be more about legal cover than...more
The Irony in Regulating Employee Social Media Speech: the NLRB vs. the FTC -
BREAKING NEWS: Employees use social media. A lot. And, in a related story, Bush beat Gore, according to the Supreme Court. All breaking news,...more
It’s that time of the year when HR professionals are crossing their fingers and hoping they don’t have to terminate anyone for misconduct at the company holiday party. Fox 26 in Houston interviewed me about the suggested tips...more
Perhaps the blurriest line in employment law is the difference between an independent contractor and employee. Companies prefer contractor status because it is cheaper and offers more flexibility. ...more
Unfortunately, when the price of oil goes down, the employment numbers also move downward in Houston. Many clients in the oil and gas industry are either planning or considering downsizing measures, which means that it is a...more
On its face, federal law does not list sexual orientation or trans-gender status as protected categories. Some states or cities have passed their own laws offering such protections, leaving a patchwork of laws across the...more