On December 5, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, declined to substantively address a question businesses across the country have been eager to resolve: That is, whether a “tester”...more
12/20/2023
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Mootness ,
Public Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
On December 5, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, declined to substantively address a question businesses across the country have been eager to resolve: That is, whether a “tester”...more
12/18/2023
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Mootness ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
In a 3-2 decision in Zilka v. Tax Review Board, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Commonwealth Court and sided with the City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue in a case addressing whether a City resident was...more
On November 9, 2023, a coalition of business advocacy groups led by the US Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas challenging the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”)...more
11/20/2023
/ Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
State Labor Laws ,
Summary Judgment
Summary -
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently announced settlements with a number of companies whose separation agreements or internal policies the SEC viewed as impeding employees’ participation in the...more
10/5/2023
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Former Employee ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Separation Agreement ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed decades of precedent by broadening the standard for what constitutes an actionable adverse employment action....more
Summary -
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have taken steps to update the Merger Guidelines and overhaul the premerger notification process, each with a sharpened focus on the effect a...more
In this episode, we discuss the recent US Supreme Court ruling in the Students for Fair Admissions Inc.'s lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, which challenged the constitutionality of...more
Summary -
The Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina (collectively SFFA), in a 6-3...more
7/6/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a Field Assistance Bulletin providing guidance to field staff regarding the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). ...more
On May 1, in its Lion Elastomers decision, the Board overruled Trump-era precedent (General Motors) that made it easier for employers to discipline workers for outbursts in the context of workplace activism and union-related...more
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and three other federal agencies issued a joint statement vowing to use existing laws to protect employees and the general public from discrimination and bias...more
The focus remains on the National Labor Relations Board’s (Board or NLRB) ruling in February that asking employees to sign separation agreements with confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses is unlawful. Most recently,...more
Last month, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) when the employer offers employee severance agreements with provisions...more
Companies impacted by the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure may be concerned about their ability to meet immediate payroll obligations as they await funds from government regulators. Despite regulatory assurances that funds...more
On Monday of last week, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law the “Paid Leave for All Workers Act” (Act) which establishes a minimum paid leave standard for all workers in Illinois, with the exception of certain...more
Companies impacted by the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure may be concerned about their ability to meet immediate payroll obligations as they await funds from government regulators. Despite regulatory assurances that funds...more
On February 24, 2023 the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a former employee’s arbitration agreement with his former employer was unenforceable under the Ending Forced Arbitration of...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that a disabled Florida resident has standing to sue a Maryland hotel under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), despite that Florida resident (the ...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act when the employer uses employee severance agreements with provisions restricting employees’...more
Earlier this month, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law the “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act” for the purpose of protecting individuals from discrimination and retaliation in...more
Summary -
On December 29, 2022, as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill, President Biden signed into law two pieces of legislation that will benefit pregnant and nursing mothers—the Pregnant Workers Fairness...more
We first discuss the multiple benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for financial institutions, the challenges and opportunities institutions face in implementing a DEI strategy, and how DEI applies beyond an...more
Last week, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission ordered, and the state Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved, safeguards against discrimination for LGBTQ individuals and individuals with traditionally Black...more
On October 11, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), citing continued safety precautions related to COVID-19, extended through July 2023 the flexibility rule for the...more