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New DOL Rule on Disability Claims Procedures: Employer Action Required

The U.S. Department of Labor announced earlier this year that the effective date for employee benefit plans to comply with its new final rule on disability claims procedures is April 1, 2018. The rule applies to claims for...more

Federal Courts Uphold Employer Notification Requirements for FMLA Absences

In its last round of Family and Medical Leave Act rule revisions, the Department of Labor recognized employers’ rights to establish notice procedures for employees who need to miss work due to intermittent and other legally...more

Employer Not Required to Provide Indefinite Leave for a Temporary Disability

Despite the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s more nuanced position, federal courts have generally rejected attempts by plaintiffs to claim that an indefinite leave of absence is a required reasonable accommodation...more

FMLA Care Leave Rights Expire Upon Relative's Death

The Family and Medical Leave Act entitles eligible employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for, among other things, care of a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition (SHC). What happens to these...more

Calling African-American 'Boy' and 'You People' Creates Hostile Work Environment

In a recent string of decisions, federal courts have concluded that use of racial epithets even on one occasion is sufficient to constitute a hostile work environment under Title VII. Thus, use of the N-word and other...more

Tenth Circuit Upholds EEOC's Authority to Sue in Relation to Non-Disparagement Provision

When an employer provides an employee with a release and settlement agreement, the document regularly includes provisions that prohibit the employee from criticizing the employer and related parties. Several years ago, the...more

Eleventh Circuit Says PDA May Require Accommodation of Breastfeeding Needs

For years, federal courts have held that pregnancy and sex discrimination laws do not require employers to affirmatively accommodate breastfeeding by employees. However, a recent line of cases has blurred this conclusion,...more

Failure to Complain About Sexual Harassment Over Long Period of Time Dooms Later Claims

In most cases in order to demonstrate a hostile working environment due to sex, a plaintiff must show multiple incidents of harassment over a period of time. However, in some situations, allegations of harassment that occur...more

NLRB Upholds Rule Prohibiting Disclosure of Confidential Customer Information

Under federal labor law, employees involved in a labor dispute with their employer have the right to seek assistance from the company’s customers. On August 14, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rejected a claim from...more

Federal Court Again Says Telecommuting Not Acceptable Substitute for Being at Work

Employers continue to face disability discrimination claims from employees who argue that their medical conditions give them a right to work from home as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act...more

Fifth Circuit Finds Telecommuting Not Reasonable for Accommodation for Litigation Attorney

Contrary to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) position discussed in last week’s EmployNews, federal courts continue to allow employers to require employees to actually come to work. Last month, the Fifth...more

Eleventh Circuit Decision May Prompt Supreme Court to Determine Coverage of Sexual Orientation Bias Under Title VII

On July 6, the full Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals declined to hear the appeal of a case dismissing a sexual orientation bias claim under Title VII for lack of jurisdiction. This decision creates a split among the federal...more

Fourth Circuit Says FMLA Allows Reinstatement to Equivalent Position Even If Original Job Remains

Employees taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are entitled to be reinstated to their previous job or to an equivalent position. The equivalent position must be the substantially the same in terms of...more

NC Court of Appeals Says Attempted ADA Accommodation Can Be Terminated Based on Effects on Coworkers

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) encourages employers to engage in an interactive process with disabled employees to determine if there are reasonable accommodations that allow the employee to perform the essential...more

Employer Potentially Liable for Supervisor's Off-Duty Murder of Employee

Most employers know that they can be held liable in some situations based on negligent hiring or retention of an employee who harms a third party. A new decision from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals cautions employers...more

Fourth Circuit Upholds Termination of Public Employee for Social Media Comments

A politically divided nation can mean a politically divided workplace. While employers generally hesitate to react to employees’ expression of political views, some comments viewed as extreme, threatening or inconsistent with...more

Mandatory Disclosure of Prescription Drug Use May Violate ADA

When an employee tests positive for illegal drug use or self-discloses such use, many employers condition return to work on the employee’s participation in a substance abuse treatment program. These programs can include drug...more

Split Eleventh Circuit Panel Says Title VII Does Not Prohibit Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Perhaps the hottest issue in employment discrimination law today is whether that ban on gender discrimination includes discrimination on...more

Tenth Circuit Rejects Broad EEOC Subpoena in Single Employee Discrimination Charge

The scenario is familiar to employers responding to a Charge of Discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Even though the Charge only includes claims of discrimination by one person, the...more

New NLRB Chair's Dissent May Point to Future Board Position on Challenges to Employee Handbook Policies

Over the past several years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has repeatedly found that standard employee handbook provisions violate employees’ rights under Section 7 of the NLRA. These cases conclude that a variety...more

Federal Computer Hacking Laws Apply to Executive's Unauthorized Access to Coworkers' Emails

The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the Stored Communications Act (SCA) were enacted to protect U.S. businesses and individuals from computer hacking and industrial espionage. In recent years, employers and...more

Prior Sexual Harassment Does Not Ease Plaintiff's Burden of Showing Hostile Work Environment

Employers sometimes struggle determining appropriate disciplinary action in the event of relatively low level sexual harassment. Many companies take a no tolerance approach, concluding that keeping the harasser employed makes...more

FMLA Caregiver Leave Rights Can Extend to Grandparents

Most employers know that qualified employees are entitled under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to take unpaid leave from work to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. What happens when...more

Fourth Circuit Follows Salinas Decision With Finding of Joint Employment of Satellite TV Installers

As reported in EmployNews, last month in its Salinas decision, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina and South Carolina) adopted a new, broader test for determining when two entities are joint...more

Seventh Circuit Dismissal Signals Likely End to EEOC's Challenges to Employer-Sponsored Wellness Programs

Several years ago, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) raised employers’ eyebrows when it filed several lawsuits challenging the validity of employer-sponsored wellness programs. The EEOC contended that such...more

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