As announced in our previous article titled “Updated Title IX regs to change the way colleges respond to sexual harassment allegations”... the U.S. Department of Education recently updated its regulations to Title IX of the...more
8/14/2020
/ Colleges ,
Decision-Making Process ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Training ,
Grievance Process ,
Investigations ,
New Regulations ,
School Policies ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
The effect of furloughs on FFCRA leave -
Due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers have had to make the difficult decision to furlough members of their workforce. A furlough is not a layoff or...more
8/3/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Furloughs ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pay Reductions ,
Relief Measures ,
Remote Working ,
Telemedicine ,
Wage and Hour
On July 21, 2020, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal circuit court that covers Oklahoma, was the first circuit court to rule that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 permits “sex-plus-age” claims.
The...more
7/24/2020
/ ADEA ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Age Discrimination ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disparate Impact ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
Just recently, the U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance regarding the closure of summer camps, summer enrichment programs, and other summer programs, and whether those closures would allow an eligible employee to take...more
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education published its long-awaited final regulations under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, the federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on sex in...more
6/26/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Grievance Process ,
New Regulations ,
School Policies ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On May 5, 2020, the EEOC provided additional guidance to employers on employee accommodation issues that may arise in the context of return to work.
The updated guidance focuses on employees who may have an underlying...more
On April 23, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officially stated that employers may administer a COVID-19 test – the test used to detect the presence of the COVID-19 virus – to employees to determine if they...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission continues to update its guidance on what employers should know about COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and other Equal Employment Opportunity...more
The U.S. Department of Labor continues to update their guidance on the FFCRA on a regular basis. Most recently, the DOL has provided more explanation about the small business exemption, which would exclude a small business...more
The U.S. Department of Labor just recently updated its Q&A on the Families First Coronavirus Reponse Act, providing additional, much-needed guidance to employers. The interpretation and implementation to the FFCRA is changing...more
Wednesday, March 25th, the U.S. Department of Labor has provided employers covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s paid sick leave and expanded Family and Medical Leave provisions with the required notices to...more
On Tuesday afternoon, March 24, the U.S. Department of Labor issued Questions & Answers regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Notably, the DOL clarified that the leave requirements under the Act become...more
As of March 19, 2020, the EEOC has confirmed that based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other public health authorities, the COVID-19 pandemic meets the “direct threat” standard under the Americans with...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has just recently clarified that because the Centers for Disease Control and other state and local health authorities have acknowledged community spread of COVID-19 and issued...more
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a body of law that prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Both students...more
On October 8, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on whether existing federal law prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or transgender status.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...more
10/21/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Certiorari ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In the spring of 2018, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received its first budget increase in over eight years, with Congress approving approximately $16 million for the agency to focus on sexual harassment...more
As discussed in our EmployerLINC Alert earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage & Hour Division announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to increase the salary threshold employees must meet in...more
3/25/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On Monday, Justice Gorsuch for the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in Epic Systems Corp v. Lewis, together with two companion cases, upholding the use of class and collective action waivers in arbitration...more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Employment Contract ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS
While the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires employers to pay its employees overtime for any hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek, the law also provides that certain types of employees are exempt from –...more
4/12/2018
/ Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Over-Time ,
Reversal ,
Salespersons ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Wage and Hour
In a workplace era that may soon be referred to as “Pre-Weinstein,” employers not only could quietly settle sexual harassment claims by including a nondisclosure agreement that virtually assured the matter would be kept...more
A recent decision by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (the jurisdiction that covers Oklahoma federal courts) provides another reminder that religious accommodations come in all shapes and sizes, and that proving “undue...more
Many states already have laws aimed at closing the wage gap. Whether they are couched as pay disparity, pay equity, equal pay, or pay transparency laws, the goal is the same – equal pay to women for equal work.
Some states...more
11/14/2017
/ Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As we previously reported, the U.S. Department of Labor failed to challenge a federal district court’s blocking of the new overtime rule that was set to go into effect last December and, instead, signaled its intent to...more
It’s a common scene played out in employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuits everywhere: An employee is demoted, terminated, or otherwise affected by an employer’s action. The employer claims the decision was made for...more