An employer’s decision to transfer an employee to a lateral job – with no change in pay or benefits – may violate federal civil rights law in some situations if it’s based on discriminatory reasons. According to a SCOTUS...more
4/18/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The Supreme Court may soon clarify whether an employer’s decision to transfer an employee to a lateral job – with no change in pay or benefits – violates federal civil rights law if it’s done for discriminatory reasons....more
1/18/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The Supreme Court just began a new term, and we’re watching several cases that will likely have a big impact on the workplace. Specifically, the Court will weigh in on whether someone can “test” violations of federal...more
10/9/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Certiorari ,
Chevron Deference ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Hiring ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Title VII ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
When is a job transfer not just a transfer? The Supreme Court will soon decide whether lateral job transfers, with no change in pay or benefits, violates federal civil rights law if done for discriminatory reasons. Read on...more
This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2023, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
8/28/2023
/ Business Closures ,
Disaster Aid ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Conducting investigations of internal complaints of discrimination and harassment is one of the most important jobs for retail employers to undertake. More than simply helping your business avoid liability, these...more
This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2022, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
9/9/2022
/ Business Closures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
Given that the retail workforce is 57% female, chances a retailer will have pregnant employees at any given time is high. The CDC warns women, “Physical demands at work could increase your chances of miscarriage, preterm...more
Almost two years into the pandemic, federal workplace discrimination officials issued guidance on when an individual who contracted COVID-19 might have a disability under disability law. The overall tenor of the guidance from...more
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves recently signed a new equal pay law into effect in an effort to reduce the wage gap between men and women in the state. The “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act,” signed on April 20 and taking effect...more
Some companies are well known for providing teenagers their first jobs and providing a learning foundation on what it takes to be successful in the workplace. But many retailers have long held policies against employing...more
Federal law’s obligation to accommodate religious observances and practices has been in the spotlight recently because of employees seeking to be exempted from employer mandatory vaccination policies when the vaccine...more
Wage and hour litigation remains one of the top types of litigation filed in federal courts. In 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, plaintiffs filed more than 5,000 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuits. Because many of...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant uncertainty for businesses across the country – but there is some good news for Louisiana employers and businesses. As offices, worksites, and other places of businesses reopen,...more
The retail setting is a particularly difficult one in which to make accommodations. This is because retail employees engage in a host of different duties that require all manner of physical activities. Those who are...more
1/8/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Descriptions ,
Job Duties ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Perhaps no industry in history has been targeted for its basic employment requirements like the retail industry has been targeted over scheduling practices. The philosophy behind the rise of these ordinances is that having a...more
In most workplaces across the country, a perfect attendance record will be met with applause. Employees who “tough it out” and sneeze their way through the workday are congratulated, while those who stay at home to nurse an...more
10/4/2019
/ Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Immunization Records ,
Influenza ,
OSHA ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Retailers ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sick Leave ,
Vaccinations
During the Obama administration, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rocked the HR world for employers, both union and non-union, by interpreting federal law to create broad restrictions on employer work rules, social...more
If the Department of Labor has anything to say about it, employers may soon get a bit of a reprieve when it comes to dealing with the administrative and compliance difficulties associated with the Family and Medical Leave...more
In our last issue, we looked at some ideas about how to investigate, catch, and terminate employees who are stealing from your company. In this conclusion, we’ll talk about some ways to avoid—or at least reduce the...more
There’s good news for retailers: you are getting better at preventing shrink from employees. In 2005, a University of Florida study found that employee theft accounted for 47 percent of shrink. In a follow-up study in 2016,...more
4/6/2018
/ Business Assets ,
Defamation ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Investigations ,
Privacy Policy ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retailers ,
Theft ,
Witness Statements ,
Work Suspensions ,
Wrongful Termination
Numerous individuals who work in retail stores are actually employed by a company other than the retailer itself. These include vendor employees stocking product, sampling employees who offer customers tasty treats, inventory...more
1/4/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Terms ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Frivolous Lawsuits ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Indemnification ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Title VII ,
Vendors ,
Wage and Hour
No new hire has ever been accused of enjoying the time spent filling out the myriad forms they must execute at the outset of their employment. Likewise, it would be a curious manager who listed “helping new hires with...more
When the U.S. Supreme Court issued a March 2015 decision creating a new standard for how employers should accommodate pregnant employees, retailers took notice. After all, approximately 50% of retail employees are female, and...more
Recent workplace violence incidents have driven some employers to take steps to minimize the risk of criminal behavior at their locations. Whether it is beefing up physical security measures on premises, installing...more