The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s long-awaited new Workplace Harassment Guidance was issued on April 29, 2024. The last one was issued in 1999!...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final rule adopting a comprehensive ban on non-competition agreements and clauses, which prevent workers from leaving for a competitor for a certain period of...more
One of the decisions avid Supreme Court watchers (yes, aka employment law nerds) have been waiting for was Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri....more
4/24/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The final rule and Guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this week on the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act of 2023 (PWFA) answers the question of “what took so long?”...more
The new Department of Labor (DOL) Final Rule provides the following non-exhaustive six-factor test regarding whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor for wage payment purposes...more
Employer policies and employment decisions involving workers’ compensation can be tricky. We often receive calls to assist employers who are haunted by common misunderstandings. So, as a special Halloween treat this year, we...more
June 30 will mark the end of the 2022-2023 U.S. Supreme Court term. The high court has a penchant for issuing highly anticipated decisions during the last few days of the term, such as overturning Roe v. Wade last year in a...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religious Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship
As reported in our January 10 alert, the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) goes into effect on June 27.
While our prior alert contained the details of this new law, here are a few practical steps to...more
6/20/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Employers who use an external company to conduct background checks should be sure this company provides you (or your applicants, if the external company is sending these notices directly) with the new “Summary of Your Rights”...more
While You Were Sleeping (or Traveling or Watching Football) During the Holidays. . .Two New Federal Laws Affecting Pregnant Workers Were Passed -
Two updates to start the New Year include the Providing Urgent Maternal...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new mandatory “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster....more
Adding personnel is typically a good indicator of growth for a new or emerging business. However, despite good intentions or attempts to achieve greater efficiency, many new businesses make common mistakes like the ones...more
Here are a few employment-law related developments you may have missed as you are out enjoying your summer. ...more
With the U.S. Supreme Court recognition of same-sex marriage back in 2015 and increasing EEOC scrutiny regarding employers’ pregnancy accommodation policies and practices as well as gender discrimination, your new parent...more
For those of you who have put off thinking about complying with the new EEO-1 pay data reporting requirements until “the end of summer,” per my 14-year-old nephew, the end of summer is here! So, it’s time to get cracking....more
The Tennessee General Assembly passed the Healthy Workplace Act back in 2014, which provided immunity to public employers for employee claims relating to workplace bullying if they adopted the model anti-bullying policy which...more
Some of you may be surprised to know that our great State of Tennessee does not use the same definition as the federal government, specifically the IRS, when it comes to defining “independent contractors” vs. “employees.”...more
The Department of Labor (DOL)’s latest Opinion Letter regarding independent contractors (and how to distinguish them from employees) uses the same six (6) factors we have seen in previous letters....more
Per the EEOC website, the EEOC expects to begin collecting EEO-1 Component 2 (the new payroll) data for calendar years 2017 and 2018 in mid-July, 2019, and will notify filers of the precise date the portal for this new data...more
After several months of leaving employers in limbo as to WHEN and HOW to file their EEO-1 reports this year, we BELIEVE we finally have a definitive answer to these questions.
...more
In the latest Department of Labor (DOL) Opinion Letter, issued on March 14, 2019, the question posed to the DOL was, “May we allow employees to use some or all of their paid leave before using FMLA leave in connection with an...more
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) had taken a break for the past 9 years from issuing Opinion Letters. These Letters are not binding/do not have the effect of law, but can be beneficial to employers...more
Can You Fire Her? -
Most employers, including the one involved in the lawsuit the title of this article is based upon, Hostettler v. The College of Wooster, would answer this question “yes.” After all, the Family and Medical...more
In the wake of the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Young v. UPS, many employers have gotten “way too excited” and have “way oversimplified” their duty to accommodate pregnant employees (or not!)....more
Those of you who have been working in HR for any length of time unfortunately can provide your own accounts as to why the above title is not true regarding sexual harassment....more