The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on July 25, 2024, ruled that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, companies can be held liable for claims of a hostile work environment if an employee shares...more
8/1/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Guidance ,
Protected Class ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Networks ,
Title VII
In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held on April 17, 2024, that an employee bringing a claim for discrimination under Title VII related to a job transfer need only show some employment...more
In Groff v. De Joy, Post Master General, No. 22-174 (June 29, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upended decades-old precedent that set the standard for undue hardship in the context of an employee's request for a...more
7/11/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
The New York State Assembly on June 20, 2023, passed Bill A01278, amending the New York Labor Code and prohibiting covenants not to compete, with certain notable exceptions, while also giving covered individuals the right to...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule on Jan. 5, 2023, prohibiting non-competition clauses ("non-competes") in employment agreements. For purposes of the rule, non-compete provisions include explicit and de facto...more
Holland & Knight invites you to read our China Practice Newsletter, in which our authors discuss pertinent Sino-American topics.
HIGHLIGHTS:
..SEC Releases Proposal to Enhance Disclosures for SPACs and De-SPAC...more
5/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Metaverse ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
President Joe Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the Act) on March 3, 2022. The Act amends the Federal Arbitration Act and gives individuals asserting...more
3/17/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to soon sign into law a bill that will make significant changes to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act and affect the enforceability of employee non-competition provisions. The General...more
6/9/2021
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Consideration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforceability ,
Freedom To Work Act ,
Furloughs ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
The long-awaited COVID-19 vaccinations are finally available, and the inoculation process has begun in the United States. Employers, with the anticipation of widespread availability of the vaccine in the coming months, are...more
12/23/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Sept. 22, 2020, proposed new regulations designed to codify criteria to identify independent workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Independent contractors are not employees...more
10/1/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
In the unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers contemplating bringing employees back to work are confronted with a world very different from the one that existed just over two months ago....more
As federal, state and local stay-at-home orders begin to roll back restrictions, more and more employers are faced with the prospect of bringing employees back to work in a dramatically different world than the one that they...more
5/20/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Sick Employees ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Uncertainty surrounding when employers might return employees to work has given way to uncertainty about how to do so. Employers who are considering reopening in the coming weeks will be faced with a dramatically different...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that Kronos Inc., a vendor of biometric time clocks that allow employees to sign in and out using a fingerprint or handprint, could be liable for violations...more
The recent passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act left many questions for employers. In a joint statement issued on March 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and...more
The House of Representatives has passed a corrections bill for H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The bill will now be considered by the Senate. Key provisions that have attracted significant attention...more
3/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
HDHPs ,
Paid Leave ,
Pending Legislation ,
Sick Leave ,
State of Emergency ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads to countries around the world, employers are developing policies and strategies to address issues associated with employees 1) who have traveled to heavily impacted areas or who might...more
3/5/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
GINA ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Traveling Employee
Illinois Public Act 101-0221 (Public Act) creates extensive and significant new protections for employees and imposes new obligations on all Illinois employers. This Holland & Knight alert identifies unique requirements...more
12/20/2019
/ Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
FOIA ,
New Legislation ,
Protected Class ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employers ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statutory Penalties ,
Transparency
• The Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance will affect Chicago employers across a wide reach of industries.
• The Ordinance will impose a burden on employers to plan and notify employees of their work schedules up to two weeks...more
• A recent amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act generally prohibits employers inquiring about a job applicant's compensation history.
• There are severe penalties for violations of the amendment.
• By Sept. 29, 2019,...more
• The National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) General Counsel released an Advice Memorandum that concludes that drivers for a ride-sharing app are independent contractors and, therefore, not covered by the National Labor...more
• The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an opinion letter on when workers in a gig economy are contractors or employees.
• The analysis turns on the economic reality of the relationship between the service provider...more
5/6/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Wage and Hour
• Three opinion letters from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) offer new insight into the agency's views on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• Employers may not delay...more
• The Illinois Supreme Court's recent decision in Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp. greatly expands potential liability for private entities with Illinois employees that fail to properly collect, store and use...more
• New Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker used his first day in office to sign an Executive Order that directs the Illinois Department of Labor to review and expedite pending wage claims and prohibits state agencies from asking for...more
1/17/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Governors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Amendments ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour