"Undue hardship" defense is likely to become tougher.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the undue hardship standard in religious accommodation cases. We expect the standard to become more difficult for employers...more
1/27/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USSERA) ,
Wage and Hour
Remember faxes?
I don't. A 70-year-old home health care nurse (RN) has sued her employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act....more
Here's a handy summary of the federal employment laws that apply to vets.
In honor of Veterans Day, I'm republishing, with a few edits, a post I wrote in 2020 that summarizes the federal employment laws that apply to...more
If so, what will that mean for employers?
Yesterday, President Biden announced that he was pardoning everyone who was criminally convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law. He's also asked state governors...more
10/7/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Pardons ,
Joe Biden ,
Marijuana ,
Presidential Pardons ,
Reasonable Accommodation
So misunderstood!
NOTE FROM ROBIN: Earlier this year, I began a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. The first installment covered discrimination in general, and the second...more
9/16/2022
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
At-Will Employment ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
I'm not sure I agree. With all due respect.
An issue that has been percolating for the past few years is whether gender dysphoria is a "disability" within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I've posted on...more
Everybody's favorite subject.
Last week, Karla Miller -- the workplace advice columnist of The Washington Post -- had a fascinating letter with this problem:
The letter writer is the only female working on a floor with...more
And, for that, we should be grateful.
This week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its guidance on COVID-19 and the laws that the agency enforces. In my opinion, it's pretty unremarkable....more
While still complying with the ADA.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued some helpful guidance on Friday related to employers' use of artificial intelligence and algorithms and the Americans with Disabilities...more
5/18/2022
/ Algorithms ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Documentation ,
Employee Training ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vendors ,
Wage and Hour
As we all know, a growing number of states have legalized marijuana use to varying degrees. In some states, medical marijuana is permitted, but not recreational. In some states, anything goes. In some states, including New...more
There was this disability discrimination issue . . .
An employer who shall remain nameless had a tradition of throwing a little birthday party for each of its employees on their special day.
The birthday of one employee...more
4/22/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Social Anxiety Disorder ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Violence
Here's how an HR pro would have handled it.
There I was, a hard-boiled, cynical, grizzled, war-torn Human Resources professional, working late, as is my wont.
Suddenly, my phone rang. Odd to be getting a call at the office...more
A new series.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: For months, I've been thinking about doing a series of posts with very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. I think the series would be helpful to people who are...more
3/25/2022
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
GINA ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
With emphasis on the pandemic.
On Monday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance on “caregiver discrimination” in the workplace. The guidance emphasizes pandemic-related issues, but it is not...more
From my blog inbox . . .
"DEAR ROBIN: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say that COVID-19 is not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR...more
This week's vaccine wisdom (subject to change at any time).
Is my company required to mandate vaccinations for employees?
Possibly. Apart from the mandate for federal employees, there are three types of COVID vaccination...more
12/3/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Injunctions ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations
This post may become obsolete in the next five minutes.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a new vaccine mandate decision yesterday, declining to lift the stay it had issued on...more
Somebody say "Amen."
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has added a new section to its COVID-19 guidance, related to religious objections to vaccine mandates.
I am happy (OK, relieved) to say that the latest...more
10/29/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
I'm not sure the ADA will let you do that.
There has been a lot in the news lately about job applicants who include their COVID-19 vaccination status on their resumes, employers who ask applicants for that information, and...more
10/8/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Examinations ,
Medical History ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Here's what's been going on this week.
Some noteworthy labor and employment developments from the past week, in no particular order:
Court rules against Christian teacher who wouldn't use kids' names, preferred...more
7/16/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
First Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
Hostile Environment ,
LGBTQ ,
Ministerial Exception ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Schools ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII
Don't rely on it too much -- yet.
We recently got our first federal court decision addressing whether an employer had the right to require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The court's answer was yes...
...more
7/2/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Act ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Popular ,
Pregnancy ,
Religious Exemption ,
Suspensions ,
Termination ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Happy days are here again!
How much do you know about summer workplace fun in '21? Take our quiz and find out! As always, the answers appear right after each question, so you can cheat all you want -- we'll never know. And...more
Just before the Memorial Day holiday, we had a “breaking news” bulletin about the revised guidance published Friday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about employers’ and employees’ rights when it came to...more
6/3/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Incentives ,
Personnel Records ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Vaccine incentives are generally ok!
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today issued revised guidance on COVID vaccinations, which include long-awaited guidance on employer incentives for employees to be vaccinated....more
Can employers breathe easy now?
Last Saturday, I went to the supermarket and did my weekly grocery shopping without a mask.
It was glorious! And completely legal!
But employers may not be as elated as I am, now that...more
5/21/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Incentives ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety