On July 31, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham provided an updated COVID -19 best practices guide (titled All Together New Mexico—COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers) for New Mexico citizens. The guide sets...
Employment Law Letter
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published revised "optional- use" Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms. The agency claims the new forms are simpler and easier for employers, employees, and healthcare...
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) in favor of an employer after a former employee failed to propose an objectively reasonable accommodation...
Q Does a new father have to start Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave the day his child is born, or can he wait three months until after the mother returns to work and then take his leave? A The FMLA permits the...
A noncancerous gene mutation can be a disability covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Ohio employers) recently decided, overruling the...
On July 20, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued new notice and certification forms for employers to use when administering Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. Although you can continue to rely on the old...
An employer that terminated a female employee who left work early to attend to what an appeals court called an “inherently female” emergency situation must face a jury trial on a gender discrimination claim. Facts...
The city council for Oklahoma City recently adopted an emergency city ordinance in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In short, the ordinance requires that “all persons shall wear face coverings when entering and...
A recent Oregon court decision based on facts arising long before COVID-19 may shed light on some of the issues facing employers when employees raise virus-related safety concerns. Facts Margherita Vergara was a...
A deceased Philadelphia area man’s family recently filed Pennsylvania’s very first COVID-19-related wrongful death and survival suit against his former employer—a titan of the beef-processing industry—in the Philadelphia...
Philadelphia lawmakers have enacted an ordinance protecting COVID-19 whistleblowers from retaliatory employment actions if they sound the alarm at work. The city council passed the ordinance on June 25, and Mayor Jim...
COVID-19 has raised an unprecedented number of new concerns for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the employers required to follow its guidance. On July 22, employees at a Pennsylvania...
Federal law (as well as many states’ laws) forbids an employer from retaliating against an employee who engages in protected activity, such as complaining of unlawful discrimination. One way many employees seek to...
Q Does a new father have to start Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave the day his child is born, or can he wait three months until after the mother returns to work and then take his leave? A Under the FMLA, an...
Q We're planning to allow employees with underlying health conditions to telecommute as a temporary reasonable accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our assessment, however, they could perform only 50...