Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision altering the standard for religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Groff v. DeJoy, the Court held employers must “show that...more
7/5/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
What happens when an employee starts yelling at the boss, makes profane social media posts about work, or engages in other “abusive conduct?” In many cases, employers can follow their own policy and impose discipline if...more
On May 16 the Minnesota Legislature passed a bill (go to Article 6, page 66) that will ban new non-competition agreements between employers and employees, as well as independent contractors. Governor Walz is expected to sign...more
Employee reductions and terminations are an unfortunate result of economic downturns. Even during good economic times, many companies face the need to reduce their workforce or terminate the employment of individual...more
3/3/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Release Agreements ,
Section 7 ,
Separation Agreement ,
Severance Agreements ,
Termination
Pay transparency laws—which require employers to disclose compensation in an effort to improve pay equity—are on the rise across the U.S. Today, pay transparency laws are in effect in at least seven states (California,...more
On May 7, 2021, Governor Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 702, which prohibits discrimination based on vaccination status or possession of an immunity passport. Specifically, the Act makes it unlawful for employers to refuse...more
5/17/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or “Board”) makes it easier for employers to change workplace rules without discussing the change with the union representing their employees.
As...more
9/13/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unilateral Modification ,
Unions
No poaching agreements among employers continue to make antitrust news, and employers and their HR professionals need to take note. Whether or not a particular agreement has a valid purpose (such as protecting an employer’s...more
Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), employers must verify the identity and employment authorization of each person hired after November 6, 1986. This verification process is documented by completing and...more
4/30/2019
/ Audits ,
Buy America ,
Citizenship Status Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Social Security Numbers ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
W-2
Social media has created a minefield of concerns for both employees and employers. The news is full of stories of employees documenting their questionable off-duty conduct on social media, or posting comments containing...more
Social media has created a minefield of concerns for both employees and employers. The news is full of stories of employees documenting their questionable off-duty conduct on social media, or posting comments containing...more
11/13/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Facebook ,
Hate Speech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Political Expression ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Social Networks ,
Termination ,
Twitter
On July 3rd, the 8th Circuit held that disparaging statements made by Jimmy John’s employees in a labor dispute were not entitled to National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “The Act”) protections – because the actions were...more
7/11/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Disparagement ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jimmy John's ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Objective Falsity ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Networks ,
Union Elections
On August 29, 2016, the EEOC issued Final Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues that replaces its 1998 Compliance Manual section on retaliation. The guidance addresses the separate “interference” provision...more
Certain provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA’s”) new reporting Rule, which go into effect on August 10, 2016, implicate employers’ post-injury and post-accident drug-testing policies. As...more
In a decision that will affect staffing companies and the employers that use them, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has smoothed the path for unions that seek to organize and represent permanent and temporary...more
On January 21, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a draft guidance entitled, “PROPOSED Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues.” The public has 30 days to provide feedback....more
Question: I own a small manufacturing company that employs 25-35 employees, depending on our workload. Over the years, a number of my customers and my employees have “friended” me on Facebook. Last week, I saw that one of...more
Question: Over the summer, we heard a lot about new guidance on pregnancy discrimination. What do we need to know to ensure we are complying with local, state, and federal laws on pregnancy discrimination?...more
9/15/2015
/ Best Practices ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
McDonnell Douglas Formula ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Small Business ,
Young v United Parcel Service
Question:
I work in my company’s HR department and we just had an employee ask for additional time off, even though we’ve already given the employee a bunch of time off we are required to under the FMLA. I wanted to...more
Question:
Have there been any recent changes in the rules governing federal contractors?
Answer:
On January 30, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Notice of...more
On January 30, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would rescind the existing Sex Discrimination Guidelines found at 41 C.F.R. part 60-20 and...more