II-26 – Superbowl Concerns, Tax Reform/MeToo, Restrictive Covenant Crimes, and Expanded Religious Discrimination Theories
Episode 15: Conversation with EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic
WORD OF THE DAY® – Release Clause
On November 17, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new law that further limits the terms employers may include in release agreements relating to claims of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. The law took...more
On May 1, 2023, in Onukogu v. New Jersey State Judiciary, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgement in favor of the employer, affirming the dismissal of the...more
Employers are facing new and evolving pressures as they navigate economic uncertainty. This leads to questions and concerns about managing their workforces with minimal disruption and in a way that mitigates risk from...more
Employers have frequently included confidentiality and non-disparagement terms in their separation and release agreements. Confidentiality terms help ensure that employees won’t brag to coworkers about large payouts and...more
Employee reductions and terminations are an unfortunate result of economic downturns. Even during good economic times, many companies face the need to reduce their workforce or terminate the employment of individual...more
The National Labor Relations Board last week sent employers into a frenzy over their severance agreements when it declared most standard nondisparagement and confidentiality provisions unlawful and held that even the mere...more
On January 10, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation, which will become effective on April 10, 2023, amending the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act—more commonly known as New Jersey’s...more
On December 7, 2022, President Biden signed the Speak Out Act (the “Act”) into law. The Act limits the enforceability of pre-dispute non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses relating to sexual assault and sexual...more
When an employer presents a separation agreement and release to an employee out of work for medical reasons, questions sometimes arise regarding that person’s ability to understand and competently execute the document. If an...more
Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., -- Cal. -- (2020) - Summary: The time employees spent on Apple’s premises waiting for and undergoing a mandatory exit search of personal belongings was compensable as “hours worked” under Wage...more
Recently, in Bank of Montreal v. Li, 2020 FCA 22, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) dismissed the Bank of Montreal’s (BMO’s) appeal of the decision of the Federal Court (FC) in Bank of Montreal v. Li, 2018 FC 1298....more
On February 6, 2020, in a 2-1 decision, the California Court of Appeal (Fourth District, Division Two) held that an employee's settlement agreement with a staffing agency on a wage-and-hour claim does not necessarily preclude...more
There are a number of important considerations for employers to keep in mind when drafting a severance agreement. Join Milwaukee shareholders Bud Bobber and Brian Radloff for a discussion of practical tips for drafting...more
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law several bills that will have significant impact on employers’ workplace obligations. Effective January 1, 2019, the new laws will restrict nondisclosure agreements and...more
In his last bill signing of his final term, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law several bills affecting employers’ obligations relating to sexual harassment. Those imposing the most sweeping changes are described briefly...more
The Sixth Circuit recently allowed an Equal Pay Act and Title VII pregnancy discrimination suit to proceed despite the fact that plaintiff signed an agreement releasing all claims and, did not turn back the severance payment...more
Since the recently approved Labor Reform in Brazil took effect, companies and employees have a new way to solve their conflicts amicably. ...more
Often, when settling a dispute, I include a general release that goes something like this...more
On Monday, September 11, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held, in a precedent-setting opinion, that a workers’ compensation compromise and release agreement (C&R) did not prevent a former Boscov’s...more
Employment law enforcement agencies are involved in a significant number of employer-employee disputes. It helps for HR professionals, as well as in-house and outside counsel, to understand agency processes and priorities....more
A recent Colorado federal court decision serves as a good reminder to employers on how not to obtain a release of claims from a terminated employee. For starters, don’t tell the employee her job is being eliminated and then...more
Company Violated Two Federal Laws by Making Invasive and Irrelevant Inquiries Through Its Medical Releases, Federal Agency Charges - MINNEAPOLIS - Shoreview, Minn.-based Cummins Power Generation violated federal law by...more
On July 30, 2014, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated a collective action waiver signed as part of a separation and release agreement. The ruling is significant because it is the first time a federal appellate...more
A Federal court in Colorado recently permitted a former employee to advance an age discrimination claim despite his prior execution of a severance and release agreement after his employment ended in connection with a...more
In February, we commented on the EEOC v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. case, where the EEOC filed a “pattern or practice” lawsuit against CVS in Illinois federal court, claiming that CVS’ employee releases discourage the filing of EEOC...more