On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled a wedding website designer who has religious objections to same-sex marriage may legally refuse to design websites for same-sex couples because the First...more
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States held that certain race-conscious college admissions policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Universities
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States revived an employee’s religious discrimination lawsuit, unanimously holding that to deny a sincere religious accommodation request under Title VII of the 1964 Civil...more
The Rhode Island legislature recently moved two bills forward that would limit employers’ use of restrictive covenants with employees. On June 19, 2023, the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed a bill, Senate Bill (S)...more
On June 23, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States held district court proceedings must be put on hold during an appeal on the question of whether claims are subject to arbitration. The ruling is a big win for...more
6/26/2023
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Coinbase Inc v Bielski ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Split of Authority ,
Stays
In 1980, Texas became the first state in the United States to recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday, and today all 50 states and the District of Columbia have recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday or...more
On June 13, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overruled its 2019 independent contractor standard focused on whether workers have “entrepreneurial opportunity” and returned to a common law multi-factor analysis...more
On May 9, 2023, the Washington state governor signed a law that will make it unlawful for employers to discriminate against hiring a person based on their marijuana usage, making Washington the latest state to become a...more
A recently passed Missouri bill included some amendments added at the last minute that may have significant implications for restrictive covenants—such as nonsolicitation and noninterference provisions—that are commonly used...more
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not preempt an employer’s state court tort claims alleging a union intentionally destroyed the employer’s...more
Complying with the various legal and practical requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its regulations is an ongoing challenge for employers, particularly when it comes to questions about when an employee...more
A putative class action recently filed in Seattle, Washington, against a solar energy equipment company could be the first lawsuit to test the bounds of the state’s relatively new restrictions on noncompetition agreements for...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) issued a memorandum on May 30, 2023, declaring her opinion that the “proffer, maintenance, and enforcement” of noncompete agreements in employment contracts and...more
On May 24, 2023, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law a sweeping omnibus jobs and economic development and labor funding bill that will invest $500 million in a fund to match federal investments in infrastructure and...more
In yet another effort to speed up the processing of cases, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel on May 22, 2023, issued a memorandum instructing Regional Offices to speed up compliance with Board-ordered...more
On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued the latest federal guidance on employer use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making tools. The new guidance reinforces the...more
5/24/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Guidance ,
Title VII
As part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) continued focus on the construction industry amid the Biden administration’s infrastructure push, the agency is homing in on...more
5/23/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
CSALs ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OFCCP ,
Public Projects ,
Subcontractors
On May 17, 2023, the Minnesota state legislature passed an omnibus jobs and economic development and labor funding bill that could have serious implications for employers in the state, including a ban on noncompete clauses,...more
5/22/2023
/ Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Governor Walz ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
Minnesota is set to ban noncompete provisions in employment contracts as part of a new omnibus bill headed to Governor Tim Walz’s desk. The bill will have a significant impact on Minnesota employers by banning true employment...more
On May 4, 2023, Hawaii lawmakers sent a bill to the governor that would require employers to disclose hourly pay rates or salaries in job listings and expand pay discrimination protections—which could make the Aloha State the...more
During recent oral arguments, justices for the Supreme Court of the United States seemed conflicted on whether to upend the existing standard that allows an employer to refuse religious accommodations to its employees if the...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is examining potential discriminatory implications of the use of automated systems and artificial intelligence (AI) to make employment decisions beyond the Americans...more
On May 1, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision that changes the standards relating to discipline or discharge of workers who cross the line with offensive or abusive conduct while engaging in...more
In connection with New Jersey’s new Temporary Workers Bill of Rights law, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJ DOL) has published a new assignment disclosure form that temporary service firms must...more
Remedies for enforcement of the new federal Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), which requires most employers to provide both reasonable break time for employees to express milk for a...more