On July 3, 2024, the Federal District Court in the Northern District of Texas in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission granted a preliminary injunction staying the effective date of the FTC’s non-compete rule and enjoining the...more
In a hotly anticipated decision, the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department held in Grant v. Global Aircraft Dispatch, Inc. that manual workers do not have a private right of action under the New York Labor Law...more
1/24/2024
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New York ,
NYDOL ,
Private Right of Action ,
State Budgets ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Hoping to “raise the bar” for the rest of the nation, Governor Hochul announced a first of its kind proposal that would allow qualifying workers in New York up to 40 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal appointments. While...more
1/18/2024
/ Disability Leave ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Paid Leave ,
Pregnancy ,
Wage and Hour
The City of Chicago recently enacted a new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave ordinance. Though initially slated to go into effect December 31, 2023, on December 13, 2023, the Chicago City Council voted to amend the...more
12/22/2023
/ Cause of Action Accrual ,
City of Chicago ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Documentation ,
Eligibility ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements
On the heels of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision clarifying its view of properly pled Title VII disparate treatment discrimination claims, which we previously covered here, the Second Circuit Court of...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a unanimous opinion in Groff v. DeJoy that effectively made it easier for employees to secure religious-based accommodations in the workplace.
Prior to DeJoy, an employer could...more
7/25/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
On December 21, 2022, Governor Hochul signed into law S.9427-A/A.10477, which requires all private sector New York employers to list salary ranges for all advertised jobs and postings. This law takes effect on September 17,...more
On August 11, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again revised its public health recommendations regarding COVID-19 prevention measures in general community settings, including non-healthcare...more
The Supreme Court has stayed OSHA from enforcing its vaccine-or-test rule for large private employers. In its opinion, the Court found that Congress did not grant OSHA the authority to issue such a sweeping rule. Empowered...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
UPDATE: A federal appeals court (the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals) permanently blocked OSHA’s vaccine rule on November 12, 2021, citing to “serious constitutional concerns” with the rule. This is not the end of the...more
11/30/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Health and Safety ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has released its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) pertaining to workplace COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for employers with 100 or...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has released its HERO Act minimum standards and template policies related to airborne infectious disease prevention. Employers now have 30 days after the standards’ publication...more
This post was revised on May 19, 2021 to reflect relevant updates.
On May 5, 2021, New York enacted the Health and Essential Rights Act (the “HERO Act”). The new law seeks to address continued COVID-19 safety concerns in...more
The CDC’s recent guidance suggesting that most fully vaccinated individuals may discontinue certain safety measures, such as masking and social distancing, has created significant confusion for employers navigating...more
New York’s off duty conduct law will now explicitly apply to an employee’s off-duty use of cannabis. The change in law came as a result of the recent passage of “The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act,” which generally...more
The New York State Legislature recently passed the Health and Essential Rights Act (the “HERO Act”), which has been delivered to Governor Cuomo for his signature. The legislation seeks to address continued COVID-19 safety...more
The New York State’s Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) recently issued new Quarantine Leave guidance for 2021 – guidance that is certainly controversial in that it seemingly goes beyond the statutory text of the NY COVID-19...more
The CDC has issued new guidance focused on ensuring employees’ informed consent for COVID-19 testing in the workplace. This builds on earlier guidance the CDC issued regarding workplace testing programs last fall. Because...more
The New York City Council has expanded NYC’s Fair Chance Act to further restrict NYC employers from taking adverse actions against applicants or employees based on their criminal history. The law will go into effect on or...more
Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, many employer telecommuting arrangements remain in place, with several large corporations opting to extend these arrangements well into 2021. The benefits of such arrangements have been...more
10/20/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Income Taxes ,
Paid Leave ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Planning ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour
As employees increasingly transition back into the physical workplace, employers have begun to grapple with whether and how to deploy COVID-19 diagnostic testing as a return-to-work solution. Many employers want to avoid...more
8/10/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
A New York State Trial Court judge recently ruled that an agreement between a company and an employee to arbitrate sexual harassment claims was unenforceable due to 2018 amendments to New York State’s Human Rights Law, which...more
In a landmark opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from employment discrimination. The Court’s holding will have major...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
New York State has issued industry-specific interim guidance for “Phase 2” businesses, which includes a number of “minimum requirements” certain businesses must meet before reopening their workplaces in light of...more
As management and human resources professionals are well aware, COVID-19 has drastically and rapidly impacted the workplace. Among other things, employees require more flexibility, employers are increasingly reliant upon...more