II-26 – Superbowl Concerns, Tax Reform/MeToo, Restrictive Covenant Crimes, and Expanded Religious Discrimination Theories
Episode 15: Conversation with EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic
WORD OF THE DAY® – Release Clause
Employers have frequently included confidentiality and non-disparagement terms in their separation and release agreements. Confidentiality terms help ensure that employees won’t brag to coworkers about large payouts and...more
Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Winter 2023 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue provides an overview of a host of controversial decisions...more
Employee reductions and terminations are an unfortunate result of economic downturns. Even during good economic times, many companies face the need to reduce their workforce or terminate the employment of individual...more
The National Labor Relations Board last week sent employers into a frenzy over their severance agreements when it declared most standard nondisparagement and confidentiality provisions unlawful and held that even the mere...more
The National Labor Relations Board recently issued a decision in McLaren Macomb, holding that employers may not offer severance agreements that require employees to agree to non-disparagement or confidentiality provisions...more
In a ruling that will impact both union and non-union employees, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) held that standard non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions contained in a severance agreement were invalid...more
As part of the well-publicized reductions in force taking place at Twitter, former employees and their advocates have heavily criticized the severance packages the company offered. In many cases, those offers were limited to...more
Can a former employee serve as a class representative for ERISA claims when she has signed a general release agreement and has waived her right to participate in class actions? According to a recent decision by the District...more
A recent summary-judgment decision explains how individual releases can bar the individual from pursuing ERISA fiduciary-breach claims on behalf of the plan. A plan, employer or fiduciary that wants to ensure a release that...more
There are a number of important considerations for employers to keep in mind when drafting a severance agreement. Join Milwaukee shareholders Bud Bobber and Brian Radloff for a discussion of practical tips for drafting...more
Is the Superbowl creeping into your workplace this week? Does Washington’s new tax reform impact how you settle sexual harassment cases? Can you actually go to jail for signing a restrictive covenant? Is there a new kind of...more
A bill in the New Jersey State Senate would bar an employer from entering into an agreement for severance payments with an employee “which results in the employee releasing any claims, or barring any potential claims in the...more
A recent Colorado federal court decision serves as a good reminder to employers on how not to obtain a release of claims from a terminated employee. For starters, don’t tell the employee her job is being eliminated and then...more
A federal court has dismissed claims for enhanced retirement benefits in a case highlighting a participant’s written release of claims at the time of his employment termination. Sullivan v. Stanadyne Corporation, Case No....more
Last month, a federal judge in Illinois dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission contending that a standard release agreement used by the CVS drugstore chain violated the anti-retaliation...more
A Federal court in Colorado recently permitted a former employee to advance an age discrimination claim despite his prior execution of a severance and release agreement after his employment ended in connection with a...more
On April 30, 2014, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against a private college, charging for the second time in two months that an employer’s severance agreement was unlawful. The EEOC alleged that...more
On February 7, 2014, the Chicago District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against CVS Pharmacy, Inc., claiming that a...more
Retailers face new challenges every day as a result of legislation, litigation, and technology. This Take 5 addresses some of these challenges. 1. Pregnancy Accommodation - Several states and municipalities...more
Every employment relationship ends at some point, and some end involuntarily and with hard feelings. Sometimes, hard feelings come from current employees as well. When these hard feelings exist, employment claims are...more
Just weeks after settling its first ever Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) discrimination lawsuit and filing its first ever class action lawsuit under GINA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently addressed a significant issue to Massachusetts employers—whether general releases can bar employees from bringing Wage Act claims against their employers. Crocker v. Townsend...more