The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) “hallucinating,” i.e. generating answers and sources that do not exist, is widely sweeping the popular lexicon. However, more troubling is when AI platforms do not hallucinate at...more
On January 15, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous Judgment in E.M.D. Sales, Inc., v. Carrera that employers only need to prove an exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by a preponderance of...more
In November, a Texas federal court struck down the Biden Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule that would have made millions of salaried workers eligible for overtime pay....more
12/4/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On November 6, 2024, in Isernia v. Danville Regional Medical Center, the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia issued an Opinion denying multiple defendants’ motion to compel arbitration. The...more
A trio of cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit have challenged the core of US Department of Labor rulemaking. With varying levels of success. Restaurant Law Center v. DOL pertains to the DOL’s...more
The legal wrangling over Purdue Pharma, L.P.’s bankruptcy plan has been splashed over the news. In Purdue Pharma’s case, the reorganization plan called for Purdue Pharma to become a non-profit organization, while the Sackler...more
On June 13, 2024, the United States Supreme Court held in Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney, No. 23-367, that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) must satisfy the Winter test to secure a preliminary injunction. The Winter...more
The United States Supreme Court recently announced its Opinion in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, 144 S. Ct. 1135 (2024). At issue was whether recoverable damages under the Copyright Act were limited to the three-year...more
5/20/2024
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Discovery Rule ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act ,
Warner Chappell Music v Nealy
On April 19, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finalized its rule implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Congress passed the PWFA to require employers to reasonably accommodate employees...more
On May 8, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a monumental opinion in Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School. Senior Judge Harris, joined by Judge Niemeyer, wrote the majority opinion....more
5/17/2024
/ Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
First Amendment ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v Morrissey-Berru ,
Religious Schools ,
Religious Workers ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Teachers
On April 17, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis (No. 22-193) and held that “some injury” is sufficient to establish a federal discrimination or...more
5/7/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The courts will generally enforce employee arbitration agreements via the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). However, a “transportation workers” exemption exists under the FAA. On April 12, 2024, the United States Supreme Court...more
On February 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”). The FTC has been the federal agency at the forefront of regulation in the Artificial Intelligence...more
On March 12, 2024, the European Parliament passed the EU AI Act. The European Parliament and commentators are calling the EU AI Act “world-leading” Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation. What exactly does the EU AI Act aim...more
The United Kingdom Supreme Court has held that AI is not a person. In 2018, Stephen Thaler filed two patent applications with the U.K. Intellectual Property Office (“UKIPO”). The UKIPO rejected the patent applications on the...more
1/23/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Copyright ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court ,
USPTO
On December 27, 2023, the New York Times sued OpenAI for copyright infringement. OpenAI is the company behind popular application ChatGPT. The New York Times’s lawsuit is not unique but could be hugely consequential to...more
The legal wrangling over Purdue Pharma, L.P.’s bankruptcy plan has been splashed over the news. The plan would see Purdue Pharma become a non-profit organization, and the Sackler family that had owned the company would...more
On November 6, 2023, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision affirming summary judgment for the employer in an ADA accommodation case, Hannah v. UPS, No. 21-1647 (July 10, 2023). The...more
The Biden-Harris Administration announced issuance of an Executive Order (“EO”) on October 30, 2023 that directs various Executive Agencies to study and draft regulations to address concerns regarding Artificial Intelligence...more
On August 11, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for enabling rules to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Congress passed the PWFA to address gaps...more
The Supreme Court issued a major decision at the end of June when it outlawed affirmative action for colleges in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (“SFFA”). The Court based its decision...more
7/26/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Attorney General ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Quotas ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI
The Supreme Court’s decision in Groff v. Dejoy is a consequential case for employers facing religious accommodation requests. The Court held that an employer facing such requests does not need to follow the “undue hardship”...more
7/13/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
The Biden administration announced the end of the COVID-19 pandemic declaration on May 11, 2023. While the news has been dominated by the end of the Title 42 declaration, employers are facing uncharted waters, as well. Many...more