Can you prohibit your employees from bringing firearms to your workplace? You may think the answer is yes, but it’s more complicated. Recent state laws on gun rights have raised questions regarding guns at work. Here we will...more
7/5/2024
/ Alabama ,
Concealed Carry Permit ,
Concealed Weapons ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer No-Weapons Policies ,
Employment Policies ,
Firearms ,
Gun Laws ,
Louisiana ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Workplace Violence
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released long-awaited Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, No. 915.064. The EEOC also published a “Summary of Key Provisions,” FAQs for employees, and a...more
What accommodations are reasonable under the ADA? Employers are required to provide modifications or adjustments that enable a job applicant to be considered for a position. Beyond the application process, employers must also...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. To help determine effective accommodations, employers should use an “interactive...more
Violence in the workplace is something all employers prohibit and try to prevent. Healthcare employers have a tougher time, because the violence often comes from patients.
How do you best protect workers while still...more
3/13/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Nurses ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Texas has now joined states like California in creating statutory protections against workplace violence against healthcare workers. Senate Bill 240, now Chapter 331 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, requires healthcare...more
2/7/2024
/ California ,
Compliance ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Nurses ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
As this blog has consistently noted in the past, one of the most effective ways to combat unfounded allegations in the workplace is diligent record-keeping. Many employers have “point-based” disciplinary policies in which...more
1/9/2024
/ Absenteeism ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Notice Requirements ,
Race Discrimination ,
Racial Bias ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Termination
Everyone has been preparing for the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP Act. Earlier this month the EEOC gave us another reason to make sure our policies are up to snuff. Frontier Airlines and the EEOC...more
12/15/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Settlement
Can you enforce your uniform policy, even if that means an employee can’t wear a union t-shirt? Earlier this month, in Tesla, Inc. v. NLRB, the Fifth Circuit looked at that very question and ruled for Tesla....more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently introduced proposed enforcement guidance aimed at further clarifying and strengthening measures against harassment in the workplace. The 144-page guidance outlines...more
11/17/2023
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
The DOL issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing, among other things, to increase the salary threshold for white-collar overtime exemptions. You may recall that there was a lot of discussion about this back in 2016...more
9/7/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
White-Collar Exemptions
No-fault attendance policies may be on a watchlist for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A recent matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America Inc.,...more
Many workplaces allow their employees to listen to music or radio on site. But what if employees choose to blast “sexually graphic” and “violently misogynistic” songs throughout a warehouse? Does it matter whether the...more
Do you have a “no fault” attendance policy or some other way in which employees get points for absences? If so, be careful. A recent Eleventh Circuit matter, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America, Inc. suggests that the Equal...more
You may recall that the Pregnant Works Fairness Act (PWFA) is modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act and we blogged about the coming changes here. Given that the effective date is June 27, we’re back with an update...more
4/11/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Title VII
Can you have an employment policy that is clearly based on gender? What if it doesn’t affect an “ultimate employment decision,” such as hiring, firing, promoting, granting leave or compensation? Last year, we told you about a...more
Employers sometimes face difficult decisions after learning of an employee’s disability. What if you learn of a disability after ongoing repeated employment deficiencies or even after a disciplinary or discharge decision...more
2/21/2023
/ Absenteeism ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Failure to Notify ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Termination
Most of us know that when an employee or visitor to a place of public accommodation requests a reasonable accommodation, the ADA requires an interactive process to make an individualized determination. But what about a...more
2/16/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dog-Friendly Workplace ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Nursing Homes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Service Animals
Do you have to pay an employee on military leave? Generally, you only have to pay for military leave if you pay employees on “comparable” leaves. So what is a comparable leave? In Clarkson v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., the Ninth...more
2/15/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Military Leave ,
Military Service Members ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
Is your employee handbook a binding contract? A recent case from the Alabama Supreme Court, Davis v. City of Montevallo, says sometimes it is. Many employers issue handbooks to set forth guidelines for what employers expect...more
Do you have pregnant employees, employees returning from parental leave, or employees who have had a child or children in the last two years? Recent updates to two laws may impact accommodations you provide pregnant and...more
Workplace hair discrimination is a topic that has floated through the media for the past several years. To prohibit discrimination, California has implemented the “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN)...more
A familiar sight behind the scenes at many employers is the mandatory publication that describes employee rights and remedies under various federal statutes. The EEOC has a new version of the poster entitled “Know Your...more
No employer wants to make decisions based on an employee's social media activity. Everyone tells employees to keep their private life private and don't let it affect the job — right?
Originally published by Law360 -...more
Can a social media firestorm be the basis for an employment decision? Although it may seem like a lifetime ago, in the spring of 2020, the internet’s attention turned to a viral video of a white woman in Central Park who...more