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EEOC announces 2021 schedules for EEO data collection

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced the upcoming opening of four EEO data collections. The agency collects workplace data from public and private employers meeting certain thresholds...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Wages in a winter wonderland: pay challenges during inclement weather

During periods of severe winter weather, some businesses may opt to close for safety, convenience, or one of a myriad other reasons. Others, such as healthcare providers, provide critical services and often have no...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Yes, you can limit cell phone usage at work

Q Our company wants to implement a policy to limit personal cell phone usage only to break times. Can we ask workers to put their phones in their work lockers or on their supervisors’ desks? A Yes, you can limit cell...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Virginia Legislature to debate paid leave

When the 2021 Virginia General Assembly reconvenes, the session will inevitably be colored by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For starters, the House of Delegates plans to gavel in its regular session virtually, with the...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Virginia creates Office of Civil Rights to target discrimination

Virginia Attorney General (AG) Mark Herring has launched a new Office of Civil Rights to help protect residents from discrimination. The move is seen as a response to the cultural awakening the nation experienced in 2020...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Trump’s order on diversity training put on hold

Just before Christmas, outgoing President Donald Trump’s controversial Executive Order (EO) banning federal contractors and subcontractors from offering “workplace training that inculcates in its employees any form of...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

On-call work should be counted under ACA if time is compensable

One of our firm’s clients is a large employer under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), with an employee working 26 hours per week during the day plus two nights per week on-call while at home. It...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

TN court highlights importance of keeping age out of termination equation

The Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA) prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees 40 years old or older because of their age. In a recent case, the Tennessee Court of Appeals provided a reminder...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Long-term care facilities: OSHA monitors employer weekly reports to CMS

Employers in Tennessee will be interested to know that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is pursuing a new avenue to identify potential employer violations related to COVID-19 employee deaths at...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Pandemic underscores value of making good hires in the first place

Nothing draws out an employee’s true nature quite like a global pandemic. Many workers have risen to the occasion during the COVID-19 crisis and worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of their families and communities...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Getting to the point: what employers should know about COVID-19 vaccines

By late January 2021, two vaccines were authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and two more were nearing the end of clinical trials. Under the circumstances, many of you have been...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

COVID-19 and WARNings to employees about layoffs and closures

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requires employers of a certain size to give 60-day notice to employees before a mass layoff or plant closing. No notice is required, however, if the mass...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

What now? Regaining our stride for post-COVID-19 world

Here are some personal musings on the past year and how its lasting lessons may in fact make us all stronger at work and in the most important venue of all, our lives. After all, as Einstein once said, “Failure and...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

If your employee stormed the Capitol, you can probably fire him

As the nation processed the full impact of protesters’ recent breach of the U.S. Capitol building, the FBI warned of potential armed protests in all 50 states. Many participants in the ransacking have been identified...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Building on a brutal 2020: tips for tackling 3 big HR goals

The year 2020 was an exhausting one for HR professionals, who were faced with constant workplace challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to social movements to the presidential election. Now that it’s (thankfully)...

Feb 28, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington