Second post in our series.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: Last month, I posted the first in what will be a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace.
I could not resist having religious...more
With emphasis on the pandemic.
On Monday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance on “caregiver discrimination” in the workplace. The guidance emphasizes pandemic-related issues, but it is not...more
From my blog inbox . . .
"DEAR ROBIN: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say that COVID-19 is not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR...more
I'm not sure the ADA will let you do that.
There has been a lot in the news lately about job applicants who include their COVID-19 vaccination status on their resumes, employers who ask applicants for that information, and...more
10/8/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Examinations ,
Medical History ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Idle speculation as employers await the actual guidance.
As you know, last week President Biden issued Executive Orders and a directive to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to require many, many employers...more
9/17/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Joe Biden ,
Labor Relations ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour
Happy days are here again!
How much do you know about summer workplace fun in '21? Take our quiz and find out! As always, the answers appear right after each question, so you can cheat all you want -- we'll never know. And...more
Just before the Memorial Day holiday, we had a “breaking news” bulletin about the revised guidance published Friday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about employers’ and employees’ rights when it came to...more
6/3/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Incentives ,
Personnel Records ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Employers, don't get played.
"This is an employment-at-will state, and I can fire you for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all."
Oh, yeah?...
...more
5/28/2021
/ At-Will Employment ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Due Process ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
Can employers breathe easy now?
Last Saturday, I went to the supermarket and did my weekly grocery shopping without a mask.
It was glorious! And completely legal!
But employers may not be as elated as I am, now that...more
5/21/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Incentives ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Test your knowledge about the FMLA, pregnancy bias, and more!
How much do you know about moms in the workplace . . . in 2021? Take our quiz and find out! As long as you are a mom, have a mom, love a mom, or know a mom, you...more
5/7/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
In Loco Parentis ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Maternity Leave ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations
Before the coming crackdown.
We expect federal agencies under the Biden Administration to move in a not-so-employer-friendly direction as soon as they have a chance to get settled in. While they're still settling in, this...more
4/16/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Caregivers ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
OSHA ,
Performance Reviews ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Videoconference ,
Workplace Safety
Bless this employer's heart.
Ten years ago or so, every employment lawyer and his sister was calling the interaction between workers' compensation, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
4/9/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Light-Duty Positions ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pregnancy Disability Leave Law ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury
Here are some suggestions for making it painless.
Although the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a feeling of "impending doom" about COVID-19, many employers are ready to get back to normal. ...more
4/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Telecommuting ,
Vaccinations
There's a new sheriff in town . . . . . .
so y'all better straighten up.
You probably know by now that the Biden Administration fired Sharon Fast Gustafson, the Trump-appointed General Counsel of the Equal Employment...more
3/12/2021
/ Age Discrimination ,
Biden Administration ,
EEO ,
EEOC General Counsel ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Joe Biden ,
Mediation ,
Medical Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
Vaccines, unemployment, and more!
I had a COVID return-to-work quiz back in May, but a lot has changed since then, so I thought it might be fun to do an updated version. So . . .
How much do you know about COVID in the...more
2/26/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Documentation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Incentives ,
Layoffs ,
Masks ,
Quarantine ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Social Distancing ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Just because you can, should you?
As most of our readers know, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in December that employers can legally require employees to get COVID vaccinations, provided that they take a...more
And employers will like it.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: This is the text of a Legal Bulletin that we sent out today. I am posting it here for those of you who don't subscribe to our bulletins.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...more
12/17/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Health Care Providers ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Information ,
Pharmacies ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title II ,
Title VII
Here are 10 quick takes.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued on Tuesday a proposed update to the Religious Discrimination section of its Compliance Manual. The current section of the Compliance Manual has not...more
11/20/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Compliance Manuals ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Holidays ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
My best guess is yes.
Two new COVID-19 vaccines are hurtling toward approval by the Food and Drug Administration and release to the public.
As a result, employers are asking whether they can require their employees to get...more
11/20/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The EEOC updated its guidance this week.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week updated its Q&A guidance on coronavirus and the federal anti-discrimination laws -- primarily, the Americans with Disabilities...more
9/11/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Personal Data ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Screening Procedures ,
Workplace Safety
An easy-to-read guide that works for all employees using legal meds.*
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued new guidance documents on the rights of employees who are legally using opioids, and for their...more
And, remember those wellness regulations? New ones are in progress.
Yesterday the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its FAQs on coronavirus and discrimination. For those who are already familiar with the...more
The EEOC clarifies its position on COVID-vulnerable employees.
Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reissued guidance on employers' responsibilities with respect to employees who have medical conditions...more
"Let's turn over -- a new leaf."
"And, baby, let's make promises -- that we can keep. We'll call it a New Year's resolution . . ."
Now that the New Year's celebrations are over, it's time to start thinking about...more
How can I sue thee? Let me count the ways.
Last week, I talked about five very basic things employers do to get themselves embroiled in employment litigation. They were-
Discrimination (not only unlawful discrimination, but...more
7/26/2019
/ Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour