A Retaliation Refresher: What's the Tea in L&E?
Social Media + Employees = Hot Mess
#BigIdeas2020: NLRB’s Actions Impact Employers in 2020 - Employment Law This Week® - Trending News
What should employers do when an employee complains about not being paid enough? For most employers, it is a difficult conversation to have. In Contreras v. Green Thumb Produce (Dec. 2025) 116 Cal. App. 5th 1251, the employer...more
From the inauguration of the new presidential administration to the conclusion of the recent government shutdown, we saw no shortage of consequential political events in 2025....more
As employers head off for the holiday season, Washington delivered a long-awaited gift: a newly reconstituted National Labor Relations Board. Late Thursday night, the Senate confirmed two new NLRB Board members and Crystal...more
Political speech in the workplace has continued to be a hot topic since the 2024 elections. “Political speech” can be defined as an expression of political views, affiliation, or activities within a professional setting. One...more
On January 1, 2026, Public Act 104-0320 will take effect in Illinois, amending the Workplace Transparency Act (“Act”). The Act has been in effect since 2020 and regulates certain terms and conditions in employment, severance,...more
With employee political speech becoming an increasing concern, employers in New York are reminded of the New York Legal Activities Law, which, among other things, offers protections to employees based on certain off-duty...more
On August 15, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 3638 (H.B. 3638) into law, which amends the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (the “Act”) to provide current, former, and prospective employees with greater rights and...more
A recent decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit confirms public employers can consider certain employee speech on social media in making personnel decisions. ...more
Did I remember to mention "timing"? Retaliation claims have been the hottest at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for many years. Part of that is because every law that the EEOC enforces has an...more
Workplace retaliation claims have been rising across industries. According to recent reports from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation is most frequently cited basis for discrimination charges....more
After several months without a functioning quorum, President Trump nominated James Murphy and Scott Mayer to fill vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board late last week, signaling the potential for a significant...more
Assume the following, you ask your company’s in-house counsel to handle a highly sensitive matter involving bribery of foreign officials. The employee is given access to confidential attorney-client privileged information...more
On March 25, 2025, in Smith v. Coupang,[1] the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington denied Coupang, Inc.’s motion to dismiss its former employee’s SOX and state law whistleblower claims despite...more
Unionization campaigns often become heated, resulting in claims and criticism by both management and organized labor that walk a fine line between protected speech and illegal intimidation....more
In this episode of What’s the Tea in L&E, Labor & Employment attorney Mike Gardner joins host Leah Stiegler to unpack the topic of workplace retaliation. Retaliation occurs when an employee faces negative consequences because...more
We often get a raised eyebrow or a confused look when discussing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). For companies free from union activity and free from following a collective...more
On the newly installed Trump Administration's first day, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded the Biden Administration's guidelines for immigration enforcement actions in or near protected areas, such as...more
The Appellate Court’s recent decision in Robinson v. V.D. has a little something for any practitioner who deals with questions of constitutional law or civil procedure. Among other things, the decision held that statements...more
You can't make this stuff up. I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving. A federal judge just down the road from me ruled this week that a woman’s retaliation case should go to a jury, even though her sexual harassment...more
For the third time in eight years, both the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) prosecutorial and adjudicative arms face a pending partisan overhaul after President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025....more
On October 3, 2024, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia’s Opinion and Order in Mark C. Savignac and Julia Sheketoff v. Jones Day, et al., 19-cv-02443-RDM, addressed Title VII’s “participation...more
On September 29, 2024, the Governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2499, expanding the list of crimes for which employees can take time off and allowing employees to take protected time off to assist family members who are victims...more
The Tenth Circuit recently reaffirmed that employers may lawfully enforce a policy against surreptitious recordings. In Spagnolia v. Charter Communications, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit...more
You are about to enter another dimension. A journey into the world of discrimination and retaliation. Consider, if you will, the case of an employee who suspects that he or she is about to be fired or demoted for misconduct...more
Social media usage remains ubiquitous in 2024, and a recent trend sees the increased use of social media by employees to document their experiences with layoffs and disciplinary actions in the workplace. ...more