It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2022, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
9/9/2022
/ Business Closures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
After the news yesterday that a federal court judge struck down the CDC’s mask mandate for airplanes, mass transportation, and transit hubs, many employers immediately wondered what it might mean for their business. Though...more
4/19/2022
/ Airlines ,
Business Travel ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
Public Health ,
Transportation Industry ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Safety
Welcome to our latest Healthcare Snapshot, where we take a quick look at some of the most pressing issues facing employers in the industry. Even though COVID-19 numbers are generally trending in a positive direction,...more
4/18/2022
/ Caregivers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Shortage ,
Mental Health ,
NLRB ,
Nurses ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
Physicians ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
West coast employers have been dealing with a new era of workplace litigation since the start of the pandemic, one that features increased claims, higher settlement demands, and more aggressive plaintiffs’ counsel – and if...more
Healthcare organizations across the country should train their attention on a federal court case pending in Georgia that deals squarely with whether RNs performing utilization review (UR) work are exempt from overtime pay...more
Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more
1/26/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Incentives ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
OSHA ,
Tax Liability ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Federal workplace safety officials just released the mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule, and employers are sure to have questions. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) developed by the Occupational Safety and...more
11/5/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
As vaccine mandates increase, employers may face yet another headache in the continuing stream of pandemic-related concerns: employees presenting fake cards when asked to establish proof of vaccination. What can you do if you...more
Although the COVID-19 vaccines are expected to receive full FDA approval – perhaps as soon as later this month – an increasing number of businesses are not waiting for full authorization and are pressing forward to require...more
Concluding that a highly publicized lawsuit challenging Houston Methodist Hospital’s mandatory vaccination policy failed to state viable legal claims and misrepresented certain facts, federal Judge Lynn Hughes dismissed the...more
6/14/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Physicians ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
Invoking horrific images of Nazi war crimes and employees allegedly being used as “human guinea pigs,” a new round of lawsuits are challenging employers’ rights to enforce mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements in Texas,...more
On the heels of Florida’s highly publicized COVID-19 vaccine passport ban, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday via Twitter that he too had signed a law banning Texas businesses from requiring vaccine passports...more
The announcement yesterday from the CDC that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any non-healthcare setting was a welcome relief for all Americans and a hopeful sign that we have...more
It’s been said that from crisis comes opportunity. And given that the COVID-19 pandemic has handed us the greatest collective crisis in our lifetimes, it should stand to reason that we should now be in the perfect position to...more
5/3/2021
/ Business Operations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Gig Economy ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Relations ,
Legal Operations ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Pushback against employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccines has stirred media attention in Texas, home to the world’s largest medical complex. Specifically, a nurse working at a hospital in the Houston Methodist system has...more
4/19/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Now that the country is on course to see all adult Americans eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in a matter of days, and an increasing number of employees are returning to the workplace, vaccination status is likely to be an...more
Contending that he could not be forced to be a “human guinea pig,” a New Mexico detention center officer has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the right of his employer to require first responders to receive the COVID-19...more
Now that a COVID-19 vaccine is becoming increasingly available, how can employers encourage employees to receive it? Beyond requiring the shots as a mandatory condition of employment – which is not an option many employers...more
1/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Safety
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/10/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Death
The healthcare industry is truly on the front lines of the nation’s and the world’s response to COVID-19. As a result, healthcare providers, their employees, and affiliates are likely already well-versed on the virus and how...more
3/24/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Leave ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
Fisher Phillips has assembled a cross-disciplinary taskforce of attorneys across the country to address the many employment-related issues facing employers in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus – especially now that the...more
3/3/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Global Workforce ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
When a California Court of Appeal revived a workplace lawsuit alleging state law disability discrimination and retaliation claims that had originally been dismissed by a trial court, it did more than decide that the mistaken...more
2/5/2020
/ Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disability Leave ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reversal
The burgeoning gig economy helps companies attract talent and gain new levels of nimbleness in support of efforts to satisfy customers and gain an edge on the competition. The gig relationship is obviously attractive to many....more
As we reported just a few weeks ago, Congress has begun to gather information and consider the “future of work,” with considerable emphasis on the role of the gig economy. Although this emergency economy is growing rapidly,...more
11/12/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour