You are about to enter another dimension. A journey into the world of discrimination and retaliation. Consider, if you will, the case of an employee who suspects that he or she is about to be fired or demoted for misconduct...more
9/6/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Demotions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Performance Reviews ,
Performance Standards ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour
The following may be a true story. The events depicted allegedly took place in Lompoc, California, in 2020. Out of deference to the judges involved, their names have not been used. Out of respect for the victim, her story...more
“Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” That slogan became a rallying cry for Federalists during the XYZ Affair in 1798. Way back then, France and England were at war. What a surprise. The fledgling United...more
You may be asking. What is Chevron deference? How did it die? Why should I care? All fair questions. I will start by answering the last one. If you own, operate, or manage a business covered by the complex web of federal...more
7/9/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Vessels
Complete answers may be several years in the making. A year ago this month, in Groff v. DeJoy, the Supreme Court of the United States held that an employer who rejects a request for a religious accommodation “must show that...more
6/12/2024
/ Abortion ,
Adverse Impact ,
EEO ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Social Media ,
Southwest Airlines ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination ,
Undue Hardship ,
Union Dues ,
Unions
You’ve got an employee who is an outspoken critic of your company’s equal employment policies or practices. He or she has violated your dress code by wearing anti-discrimination messages, fomented discontent amongst your...more
According to U.S. News & World Report, in 1758 George Washington was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses after he plied voters with beer, whiskey, rum punch, and wine. He did so after a landslide loss three years...more
4/18/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Cemex ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Joe Biden ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Teamsters ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
If you answered no, then you’d better have the records needed to prove the number of overtime hours worked by your employees and the rates paid for them. If you don’t have the records, then borrowing a rhyme from the legal...more
When I was in high school, the foreign language offerings were French and Spanish. That was a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Today, the best I can do in Spanish is ask your name, what time it is, and how to...more
Chutzpah is a Yiddish word derived from the Aramaic ḥuṣpāh. It means impudence, gall, and an audacious disregard for rules. In the world of employment law, it can aptly describe employees who try to get what they want...more
3/12/2024
/ Back Pay ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Branch Rickey, former General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the man who gave Jackie Robinson his shot in the Big Leagues, once said that luck is the residue of design. (Actually, the phrase may come from the British...more
In the 21st century world of employee relations, most corporate cultures and mission statements include a tenet regarding employee engagement. Engaged employees are believed to be more productive and less likely to leave for...more
Mike Daniels is a 300-pound mound of sound who played defensive tackle in the National Football League. After receiving more than a few personal foul penalties during his 10-year career, he explained that “the second guy...more
It’s an election year. Be careful out there.
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” I represented labor unions. Actually, it was more like 30+ years ago and a few miles down I-85 in Atlanta. Just like that opening...more
12/19/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Relations ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In August 2022 the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Tesla, Inc.,holding that an employer bears the burden of proving “special circumstances” if it “interferes in any way with its employees’ right to...more
12/12/2023
/ Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Special Circumstances Doctrine ,
Tesla ,
UAW ,
Uniforms ,
Union Insignia ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
It’s the fourth quarter. Three seconds are left on the clock, and your team is losing by one point. Your place kicker confidently trots onto the field to attempt the game-winning field goal. As he does, the TV announcer says,...more
In Part One of this two-part bulletin, we explored the expansive meaning of religious beliefs entitled to an accommodation under Title VII and the reluctance of courts to second guess whether a belief is “religious” in...more
On September 25 a federal court in New York dismissed a lawsuit accusing an employer of failing to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs as a member of the “Temple of the Healing Spirits” located in “Deland city,...more
Hair. In some religions it is considered a sacred gift from God that should not be cut. In other religions, it must be styled, covered, or cut in particular ways. These religious practices may result in employees’ requesting...more
In the Broadway musical Pajama Game, based on the 1953 novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell, employees at the aptly named Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory want a pay increase of 7½ cents per hour.
(Like I said, the novel was written...more
In its recent en banc opinion in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned nearly 30 years of precedent that required Title VII plaintiffs to allege that they had been subjected to...more
On July 16, Time (the publisher I once knew as Time Magazine) posted an article titled “The Implications of the Supreme Court’s 303 Creative Decision Are Already Being Felt.” The article says that in the first few days after...more
In the past week, a class action lawsuit was filed against Anheuser-Busch, alleging various violations of California’s wage and hour laws.
You may ask, “What’s newsworthy about that? Aren’t hundreds of such lawsuits filed...more
In the past 30 days the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that denial of a religious accommodation requires proof of a real “undue hardship,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sent a letter to the EEOC asking how it intended to...more
In 303 Creative v. Elenis, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Colorado could not take legal action against a graphic designer who refused to create custom wedding websites for same-sex marriages because of her religious...more
7/10/2023
/ 303 Creative LLC v Elenis ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
SCOTUS ,
Vendors ,
Website Design