In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court considered what protections Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides to employees who claim they were the victims of a discriminatory transfer....more
Last June, the United States Supreme Court held in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll that affirmative action policies at universities violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause...more
2/29/2024
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bayh-Dole Act ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Protection ,
Equity ,
Racial Bias ,
Risk Mitigation ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
A federal appeals court has made it easier for plaintiffs to bring employment discrimination lawsuits, but failed to offer clear guidance on how employers can adjust policies to minimize litigation risk.
The en banc...more
11/30/2023
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
En Banc Review ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
From campus to corporate -
Highlights:
The Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling may influence workplace diversity efforts significantly.
Title VII implications from the Equal Protection Clause interpretation...more
10/11/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Protection ,
Equity ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
Chase Hattaway talks with HR.com about the impact of the #MeToo movement on the U.S. work culture, challenges employers face when addressing workplace harassment in a remote setup, and more.
Originally published on HR.com...more
The decision is a win for the Florida governor who sought to protect Florida citizens who chose not to get vaccinated.
In a 2-1 decision reversing United States District Judge Kathleen Williams’ 2021 Preliminary...more
10/11/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reversal ,
State Bans ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
On March 10, 2022, the Florida Legislature passed Florida House Bill 7 / Senate Bill 148, which have a stated purpose of protecting “individual freedom.” The law, nicknamed the “Stop Woke Act,” expands Florida employers’...more
As employers hire new staff members, keep in mind individual state employment laws, ADA considerations and compensation requirements.
At the beginning of the pandemic, large swaths of the country converted from in-person...more
3/22/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
New Hires ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Zoom®
In light of the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates, employment and labor attorneys Sally Culley and Chase Hattaway discuss the legal implications of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for...more
On November 12, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay of OSHA’s enforcement of the ETS that that required certain employers to, among other things, require employees to provide proof of vaccination...more
On November 4, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with more than 100 employees to, among other things,...more
11/22/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In September, President Biden issued his COVID-19 Action Plan in which he announced, among other things, that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) was developing a rule to require...more
Be cognizant of state and federal anti-discrimination laws when enacting vaccine mandate policies -
As the ongoing pandemic converges with staffing issues and efforts to increase vaccination rates, many employers have been...more
11/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
OSHA ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, President Joseph Biden released his COVID-19 Action Plan titled “Path Out of the Pandemic.” President Biden’s plan is wide-ranging, and includes the following for businesses:
The Department of...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Businesses across the nation are implementing measures to ensure that their customers have been vaccinated.
According to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 120 million...more
5/19/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Florida ,
Governor Abbott ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Incentives ,
State Bans ,
Texas ,
Title VII ,
Vaccine Passports
On May 3, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that would ban any Florida business from mandating that an individual provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to receive services. The Governor...more
Employment and Labor attorneys Sally Culley and Chase Hattaway discuss the legal implications of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees and share key considerations in helping employers decide the best option for their...more
In Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 592 U.S. ___ (2021), the United States Supreme Court held that plaintiffs asserting constitutional rights have standing to sue for past injuries, even if they only seek nominal damages. The...more
In Barnett v. State Department of Financial Services, No. SC19-87, ––– So.3d ––––, 2020 WL 5667286 (Fla. Sept. 24, 2020), the Florida Supreme Court ruled that when multiple claims of injury are brought against the State (or...more
2/3/2021
/ Department of Children and Families (DCF) ,
Doctrine of Limited Waiver ,
FL Supreme Court ,
Florida ,
Liability Caps ,
Mass Shootings ,
Negligence ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tort ,
Wrongful Death
In an effort to balance safety with education amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities have transitioned from in-person classes to online formats. ...more
On March 24, 2020, the Department of Labor published Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-1 in which it explained that it would not pursue enforcement actions against public or private employers who make reasonable, good faith...more
Guidance on Paying Employees -
(Based on guidance from the United States Department of Labor)
Employers should bear in mind that state and federal laws may be modified as the United States deals with this pandemic. ...more
On September 20, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in Robert Kenney v. Helix TCS, Inc. that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) applies to workers in the cannabis industry. This is a...more
11/8/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Appeals ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Over-Time ,
Security Guards ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Statutory Violations ,
Stream of Commerce ,
Wage and Hour
In 2016, Florida voters soundly passed Amendment 2, Florida’s medical marijuana law, with over 71% of the vote. Since then, two bills have been passed implementing the law, there was one high-profile lawsuit targeting the...more
9/24/2019
/ Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Regulations ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
In a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the United States Supreme Court ruled that employers can require employees to waive their right to participate in class action lawsuits. The case was Epic Systems Corp. v....more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS