On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new enforcement guidance on workplace harassment, effective immediately. Guidance on this topic had not been updated since 1999. The EEOC received...more
On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that allegedly discriminatory job transfers are actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, so long as the transfer caused “some harm” to...more
4/22/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
New regulations to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was enacted in 2023, will soon take effect. Yesterday, April 15, 2024, the EEOC unveiled its final rule, which will take effect 60 days after its anticipated...more
On March 29, 2024, the federal government released a new “Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.” This update aims to better reflect the growing diversity of the people of...more
On December 22, 2023, Governor Hochul vetoed the bill, stating that while she recognizes the need to restrict non-compete agreements for middle-class and low-wage workers, that interest must be balanced with New York...more
In December 2023, New York governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have banned non-compete agreements for workers in New York. Governor Hochul stated that while she recognizes the need to restrict non-compete...more
As of September 13th, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL-WHD) is partnering with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to focus on “enhanced law enforcement” through information sharing, joint...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released proposed “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace.” The proposed guidance presents a legal analysis of the standards for harassment and employer...more
A significant development is underway in New York as the state is on the verge of outlawing non-competition agreements for employees. Governor Kathy Hochul is currently reviewing a bill that has been fast-tracked through the...more
Despite New York City’s already extensive anti-discrimination laws, the New York City Council recently passed a bill outlawing discrimination based on weight and height. Further, the City Council is considering various bills...more
We’ve emerged from the traditional winter season of flu, strep, and stomach viruses (often on repeat for those with small children) and are well into the traditional spring season of sneezing, sniffling, and coughing. As...more
In direct response to the significant challenges experienced by long term care (LTC) facilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its commitment to improving safety and quality of...more
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed by voice vote H.R. 4445, entitled Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault (HR 4445), a bipartisan bill that invalidates pre-dispute arbitration agreements and pre-dispute...more
Under federal guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as long as they comply with federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion and disability....more
2/23/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Fines ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Immunization Records ,
Independent Contractors ,
Religious Exemption ,
Right of Conscience ,
Tenth Amendment ,
Tort Claims Act ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Under federal guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as long as they comply with federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion and disability....more
On December 15, 2021, in State of Louisiana et al. v. Xavier Becerra, et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit) effectively revived the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Interim Final...more
On November 29, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (Missouri court) issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing and...more
On Monday, November 22, the Kansas legislature met for a special session in direct response to federal action mandating COVID-19 vaccination for certain employees. The Governor signed HB2001 on November 23...more
Under federal guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated COVID-19, and private businesses can permit entry and service only to vaccinated individuals, as long as they comply with federal...more
7/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Mandates ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Religious Exemption ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations
UPDATE:
On June 12, 2021, the hospital’s motion to dismiss this lawsuit in its entirety was granted. The Court found that the hospital’s policy of mandating the COVID-19 vaccine aligned with its business of saving lives...more
On May 28, 2021, 117 unvaccinated nonmanagerial employees from Houston Methodist Hospital filed a lawsuit to challenge the hospital’s vaccine mandate in Jennifer Bridges et al. v The Methodist Hospital. This appears to be the...more
On May 28, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated guidance for employers. This long-awaited guidance clarifies that employers can require COVID-19 vaccinations and even provide incentives...more
6/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Incentives ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Per recent federal employment law guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as long as they comply with federal employment laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of...more
Per recent federal employment law guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as long as they comply with federal employment laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of...more
3/5/2021
/ Adverse Action ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Children and Families (DCF) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discrimination ,
Emancipation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immunization Exemptions ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Minors ,
Nursing Homes ,
Opt-Outs ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Punitive Damages ,
Religious Exemption ,
Required Documentation ,
State Health Departments ,
Students ,
Vaccinations
In this episode, Husch Blackwell's Meg Pekarske is joined by colleagues Jenna Brofsky, Erica Ash and Wakaba Tessier who provide an update on the legal landscape related to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Their conversation...more
1/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety