An employer's informal background check on a new hire via Google didn't support a race discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers North...
Employment Law Letter
A federal court in Louisiana is sending sexual harassment and retaliation claims by a motel guest services representative to a jury. A big factor in the court’s decision was how her employer handled the complaint and the...
A federal district court in New Orleans found a jury must decide if a commercial diver was discriminated against after being terminated for chemotherapy and cancer treatments based on Association of Diving Contractors...
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced it won’t require private-sector employers to submit EEO-1 data this year. But don’t throw away your 2019 data Ordinarily...
Q If we’ve made a job offer but the prospective employee hasn’t accepted it yet, do we have to wait to conduct a background check? A The short answer is “probably not.” It’s actually quite common to conduct the...
Many of us have worked from home over the past few months, some with kids in tow. With the school year coming to an end, COVID-19 may thwart plans to send the kids off to summer camp or day camp. Parents who find...
Two recent decisions clarify when employees have been "constructively discharged" and can sue for wrongful "termination" even though the employer never fired them—they instead resigned or retired. Both the federal and...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires most employers to keep an OSHA 300 log and complete an OSHA Form 301 when an employee suffers a “work-related” recordable illness or injury. You must then...
After 10 weeks of a statewide lockdown, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed Executive Order (EO) 2020-110, partially lifting Michigan’s coronavirus stay-at-home order. What is opening Under the new EO, which expressly...
Unemployment benefits previously expanded by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-24 (EO 24) were set to expire recently. Just before that happened, however, she issued EO 2020-57, which rescinds EO 24 and...
Bars, restaurants, and retailers have been tremendously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting government-mandated limits. On Monday, May 18, however, Michigan took its first major step towards reopening when...
Michigan employers must proceed with caution before disciplining an employee for refusing to work during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order (EO) 2020-36. What governor’s EO...
For more than 30 years, Minnesota courts have followed federal law in ruling hostile work environment sexual harassment is actionable (or pursuable in court) only if the behavior is severe or pervasive enough to alter...
Q If an employee on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave submits a letter signaling her intent to resign at the end of her leave, do we have to wait until her leave is over, or can we terminate her employment now? A...
President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order (EO) designed to ease federal agency enforcement actions against employers attempting in good faith to comply with the host of new statutes, regulations, and guidance...