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A recent case from Austin teaches us about two key legal issues: (1) the importance of the threshold issue of an adverse employment action; and (2) the cat’s paw theory. But first, the story. ‘Future looks bright,’ but...

How old is too old to be in the workforce? There’s no good way to answer that question since some people remain in their prime even at an advanced age and others struggle to make it to a typical retirement age. The job...

An old maxim advises that honesty is the best policy, but desperate jobseekers may not heed that advice. Various surveys show that applicants often resort to submitting résumés that contain embellishments—or even...

You may have heard the phrase “change is the only constant in life.” That quote seems especially appropriate in the world of employment law these days. For decades, employers had largely girded themselves against...

A recent decision from the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals—which has jurisdiction over Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah— is significant for employers because it separates several common...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (whose rulings apply to all employers in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) held that a Wisconsin health system employer’s practice of including shift differentials, weekend...

Employers in New York State now face a new legal standard for failure-to-accommodate-religion claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after a recent ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second...

Worker safety in extreme temperatures has been the focus of significant discussion for many years. Although the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tried to implement an explicit heat safety...

There are effective emails, and then there are ineffective emails. Effective emails use the formula B.L.U.F.—Bottom Line Up Front. This is not saying you should be unprofessional; it’s saying you should be professional...

Your organization needs to implement a reduction in force (RIF), and you know you’re required to avoid discrimination in your selection criteria. What could be more objective and nondiscriminatory than an artificial...

A religious accommodation claim for an employee’s “sincerely held” religious belief is a very narrow inquiry, separated from the question of what is actually barred by an underlying religious doctrine. Faced with an...

Trial lawyers are usually successful in convincing juries that, absent any expert medical testimony, a generalized emotional distress damages claim isn’t worth much. Indeed, legal doctrine generally precludes payment for...

In a recent case, the California Court of Appeal answers an important and very basic legal issue for the state’s expanding remote workforce: When do California’s employment laws protect remote workers from termination by...

As the end of the year nears, some employees may be scrambling to get all their time off on the vacation calendar, but many others don’t bother. Instead, they willingly leave paid time off (PTO) unused even if they work...