The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has expanded its view of what a hostile work environment looks like and lowered the bar in terms of what a plaintiff must show to sufficiently allege a race-based hostile work...more
The Council of the District of Columbia passed the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 (the “Act”), one of the strictest bans on employee non-compete agreements in the country, approximately two years ago....more
In a decision on July 13, 2022, Maryland’s highest court held that the federal Portal-to-Portal Act has not been adopted or incorporated into Maryland wage laws or regulations. As a result, “what constitutes ‘work’ under...more
For those of you who may have missed this important update, Maryland law now requires employers with 15 or more employees to permit the use of existing accrued paid leave for bereavement purposes. Effective October 1, 2021,...more
On March 24, 2022, Washington’s Silenced No More Act (formally known as Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1795) was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. As a result, Washington has become the second state to declare certain...more
On October 12, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) delivered a draft of the emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing of workers for private employers with...more
10/26/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The deadline for employers to submit and certify 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Data to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is Monday, August 23, 2021. Covered employers therefore have a little over one month...more
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was passed by Congress on March 11, 2021, the cost of health insurance coverage pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) is...more
4/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Forms ,
Health Insurance ,
Model Forms ,
New Guidance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Premiums ,
Relief Measures
On November 18, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a decision that retailer Lowe’s Home Centers LLC (“Lowe’s”) did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it removed a...more
12/4/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Employee Reassignment ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Lowes ,
Reasonable Accommodation
On August 3, 2020, a federal court in the Southern District of New York overturned key provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) - the federal law requiring certain employers to provide eligible...more
In a seminal 6–3 decision for LGBTQ rights on Monday, June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States held plainly: An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law. The Opinion by...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On April 17, 2020, the EEOC updated its guidance initially published on March 17, 2020, entitled “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws” to address additional employment...more
On October 8, 2019, the United States Supreme Court heard two oral arguments in three highly anticipated cases centered on the controversial issue of whether sexual orientation and transgender status fall within the protected...more
10/25/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
As attracting and retaining employees grows increasingly critical to a business’s success, the pressure is mounting for employers to ensure accurate and consistent execution of leave policies, sometimes across multiple...more
On June 4, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, ultimately siding with the baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay...more
With its en banc decision on February 26, 2018 in Melissa Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc., No. 15-3775 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2018), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals became the second federal appeals court to hold that sexual...more
As 2017 and Chairman Phillip Miscimarra’s term drew to an end, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) issued a flurry of decisions overturning several Obama-era NLRB decisions. Because Board members are...more
12/27/2017
/ Ambush Election Rules ,
Bargaining Units ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Community of Interest ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Request For Information ,
Unions
Given the flood of public sexual harassment accusations in recent months, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and celebrities have come together to introduce legislation that would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in...more
On November 8, 2017, Suzzanne W. Decker, a Principal in the Miles & Stockbridge Labor, Employment, Benefits & Immigration practice group, and Sandra McLelland, Managing Counsel at Under Armour, presented a webinar to members...more
Inevitably, all businesses must deal with employee turnover and the departure of key employees. Such departures have become more frequent of late, as the economy is again on the rise, more jobs are available, the unemployment...more
The Fourth Circuit recently upheld a lower court decision granting summary judgment to the employer in an employment discrimination suit brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) and Maryland law,...more