The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Michigan and Ohio as well as Kentucky and Tennessee) recently reversed the dismissal of a disability discrimination claim against an employer. The employee had...
Employment Law Letter
Concerns that clients, customers, or business associates could sue them over claims they were exposed to COVID-19 have made some businesses reluctant to reopen. We’ve already seen lawsuits filed against retail stores and...
Unemployment filings in Oklahoma, and elsewhere, are at an all-time high because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) recently stated it has paid more than $432 million in...
On May 26, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued revised guidance regarding the reporting of COVID-19 cases. A link to the guidance is available at https://www.osha.gov/memos/2020-05-19/revised...
A recent Arkansas Court of Appeals case serves as a cautionary tale regarding the due process rights of public employees and the need to follow your own rules very carefully. Private employers should learn from the...
Q We laid off workers because of a slowdown, but now business is picking up. How long after a layoff should we wait before hiring again? A There’s no precise rule for when you can begin to hire to replace laid off...
Judge William Smith of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island recently entered a decision granting parts, but not all, of an employer’s request for dismissal. The court allowed the former employee’s...
Q Can HR maintain confidential internal documents within an employee’s record that she cannot access? A This depends upon the applicable state's laws, but in Rhode Island, the answer is yes. Rhode Island statute R.I. Gen...
In a recent case involving multiple issues—Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, constructive discharge, and state law claims among them—the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers South Carolina employers)...
In an opinion issued in May 2020, the Tennessee Court of Appeals provided guidance regarding the application of the common interest privilege and its impact on defamation and invasion of privacy claims within the...
The Trump administration continues to try to cut back on legal immigration in whatever ways it can do so unilaterally through regulation, executive order, or proclamation without legislation requiring congressional...
As states reopen their economies and allow employees to return to their physical offices, employers need to consider a multitude of issues, including how to comply with employment laws in an entirely new environment. In...
Virginia has always allowed you to impose reasonable restrictions on your employees’ ability to compete after the termination of the employment relationship. While this right was not unfettered, you could take steps to...
In previous issues of Mid-Atlantic Employment Law Letter, we’ve highlighted the Virginia legislature’s historic expansion of worker protections during the 2020 legislative session. Most notably, the legislature passed...
As we predicted in the January issue of Virginia Employment Law Letter, the Virginia General Assembly has increased the state’s minimum wage for the first time in 10 years and established a mechanism to raise it again in...