Many employers may have missed the news about a new federal law protecting pregnant employees and those with childbirth-related medical conditions. After all, it was approved as just one part of a massive omnibus spending...more
After nearly an 18-month delay, Congress just approved the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), requiring covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with medical conditions related to pregnancy and...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
For the first time, a federal appeals court has joined a growing number of district courts and ruled that those with gender dysphoria – a medical condition where an “incongruence between their gender identity and assigned...more
Employers can benefit from using software programs to streamline their hiring process, but federal agencies just sent a stern warning that relying on algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to make staffing decisions...more
5/17/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Reasonable Accommodation
The seemingly never-ending pandemic has affected all aspects of the workplace, with employee mental health and well-being becoming one of the top employee-related issues you need to deal with on a daily basis. The EEOC...more
5/3/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Interactive Process ,
Mental Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Wellness Programs ,
Work-Induced Stress
Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more
4/27/2022
/ 401k ,
Car Dealerships ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Policies ,
Excessive Fees ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Descriptions ,
Leave of Absence ,
Mental Health ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Institutions ,
Remote Working ,
Students ,
Wage and Hour
Republicans and Democrats in Congress are surprising all of us once again by working together in an effort to pass a law requiring employers to offer reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees. Efforts surrounding the...more
As we predicted would happen in our Insight in July, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just released guidance to clarify under what circumstances COVID-19 may be considered a disability under the ADA and the...more
The last five years have seen an increase of litigation surrounding Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS), also called Wi-Fi Sensitivity, that should be on the radar screen for schools across the country. This is...more
9/8/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Colleges ,
Disabilities ,
Educational Institutions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
FEHA ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
School Districts ,
Students ,
Title III ,
Universities ,
Wifi
The EEOC kicked off the unofficial start of summer with a bang by clearing the way for employers to offer their employees incentives to get the COVID-19 vaccine in new guidance released on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend....more
6/1/2021
/ Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family Members ,
Gifts ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/10/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Death
As an increasing number of businesses begin to require face coverings in their facilities – whether as a result of a local legal mandate or in the interest of public safety – there has been a corresponding increase in the...more
As more businesses begin to reopen, businesses face many difficult questions about requiring employees and customers to wear protective face coverings? However, businesses should not forget that, despite the onset of COVID-19...more
6/1/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Accommodation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
Just when private schools were becoming relatively knowledgeable about their obligation to allow a disabled student’s service animal on their premises, they started getting requests from employees to have their emotional...more
3/15/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Colleges ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Schools ,
Public Schools ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
School Policies ,
Service Animals ,
Students ,
Universities
There has been a burst of recent Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) decisions from around the country that can teach valuable lessons to employers. Last month, we looked at three cases examining the question of whether an...more
8/9/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Functions ,
Job Descriptions ,
Job Duties ,
Over-Time ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour
Interpreting and applying the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is often among the most challenging aspects of managing the workplace law and human resources functions at your workplace. There are numerous issues to...more
7/5/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Medical Leave ,
Over-Time ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour
Of all the accommodations considered reasonable under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), perhaps the most frustrating is when an employee requests additional time off after their 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave...more
11/8/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
De Facto Injury ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Physicians ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Undue Hardship