On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided that an employee who blows the whistle under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) does not need to show that their employer had retaliatory intent to find...more
2/12/2024
/ Employees ,
Intent ,
Murray v UBS Securities LLC ,
Popular ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Termination ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced today a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to update and revise the regulations under the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA). Specifically, the DOL proposes an increase to the salary...more
On Thursday, August 24, and Friday, August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) delivered a one-two punch to nonunion employers. Most significantly, the Board has paved the way for unions to gain...more
On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) issued an important decision in Stericycle, Inc. in which it overruled the precedent that had afforded employers a greater amount of latitude in...more
The Supreme Court released an opinion this morning in Groff v. DeJoy, No. 22-174, slip op., 600 U.S. ____ (2023), that marks a departure from the long-standing "de minimis" test lower courts and the Equal Employment...more
On April 10, 2023, Maryland legislators ended the 2023 session (known as sine die) with three significant bills headed to, and likely to be signed by, Governor Wes Moore. First, Senate Bill 828 will bring sweeping changes...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Office of the General Counsel publicly issued on February 27, 2023 an Advice Memorandum confirming the agency's view that workplace discussions about racism are protected concerted...more
Businesses take note: In Laufer v. Naranda Hotels, LLC, No. 20-2384, decided February 15, 2023, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided that a self-professed 'tester' who has filed hundreds of similar lawsuits...more
The District of Columbia is on the verge of joining other states and localities that prohibit testing applicants and employees for cannabis use as a condition of employment. On June 7, 2022, the D.C. Council approved the...more
Following in Maryland's footsteps, on May 10, 2022, Delaware Governor Carney signed S.B. 1 known as the Healthy Delaware Families Act, which takes effect on July 1, 2022. In brief, the Act establishes a Family and Medical...more
During a Special Session on April 9, 2022, the General Assembly of Maryland overrode Governor Hogan's veto of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI Program), also known as the Time to Care Act of 2022 (the...more
Since the "Me Too" and "Times Up" movements, states (some successfully) and the federal government have attempted to limit the scope of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements regarding sexual harassment and sexual...more
On November 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced publication of the Final Rule, "Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors" implementing President Biden's Executive Order 14026 (the Order), signed...more
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) released the highly anticipated COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) covering employers with at least 100 employees. This...more
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued a COVID-19 Action Plan, Path Out of the Pandemic, with the objective of getting more people vaccinated. As part of the Plan, President Biden signed Executive Order 14042, Ensuring...more
As we discussed here, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provided that employers could again voluntarily extend Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA)...more
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted updated and expanded technical assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The May 28 update replaces Section K, Vaccinations, with a new...more
6/2/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health and Safety ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations
On April 20, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released new guidance for employers who require employees to obtain COVID-19 vaccinations. We previously reported that employers may require...more
In January 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a new final rule for determining independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). See our article here explaining the final rule. The rule...more
After delaying the opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EEOC has announced that the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection are now open. Eligible employers have...more
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provided that employers may once again voluntarily extend Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA)...more
Effective October 1, 2020, employers in Maryland will be required to give advance, written notice of reductions in force – similar to the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act. Currently, under the...more
The D.C. Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 (UPLA) provides covered employees with certain amounts of paid leave during any 52-week period for one of three qualifying events: eight weeks for parental leave; six weeks...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor issued initial guidance in response to general questions posed by employers about the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act...more
During the 2019 legislative session, the Maryland House and Senate voted to enact the Criminal Record Screening Practices Act (Ban the Box) (the Act). ...more