Employment Law Letter

Which state's employment laws apply to offshore workers?

This case presents a rather unusual situation in which out-of-state workers performed their jobs on a ship that was docked at Port Hueneme, near Santa Barbara, and provided services to oil platforms located in federal...

Mar 08, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · California

Be careful out there: You may be liable for a contractor's employee's injuries

After Dynamex and Assembly Bill 5, the use of independent contractors has come under strict scrutiny in California. One of the situations that remains lawful involves business-to-business contracting arrangements—i.e...

Mar 08, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · California

You usually don't have to provide benefits to domestic partners

Q Could you confirm if we are required to cover domestic partners on medical, dental, vision, life, or disability benefits? A Typically, spouses are afforded certain rights based on the marriage, including certain...

Feb 29, 2020 · 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

You might want to give your employee handbook a second look!

When you sit down to write an employee handbook, you'll probably start by trying to think of all the subjects you need to cover. The obvious ones come easily. Of course, you must tell your employees about how they will...

With very few exceptions, you can't trade time off for overtime already worked—even by request

Q We have a nonexempt employee who sent an e-mail requesting time off in lieu of pay for overtime hours he already worked. Are we allowed to grant his request? Providing nonexempt employees with compensatory time in lieu...

Wisconsin bucks trend, permits employers to ask about salary history

State and local governments throughout the country have increasingly adopted laws and regulations that prohibit employers from inquiring about a job applicant's salary history during the interview process. Wisconsin has...

Who knew? Being awake at work remains an essential function

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit (whose rulings apply to all Mississippi employers) recently addressed a former employee's claim that his firing amounted to disability discrimination because the conduct...

When asking about an individual's disability is required

For many employers, asking whether a job applicant or employee has a disability is a recipe for a discrimination lawsuit. For those of you who are HR professionals for government contractors, however, "don't ask" is not...

When are disabled employees 'qualified' within meaning of ADA?

About a year ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit reminded employers that employees must have a covered "disability" to be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This year, the 1st...

Was it an accident or a crime? Healthcare workers' duty to report injuries

Healthcare providers, especially hospitals and clinics, routinely deal with people who are injured, but when is a patient's injury reportable? It depends on the circumstances. For example, if a person shows up at the...

Virginia joins lawsuit to compel ratification of ERA

On January 27, 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Three days later, the state joined with Illinois and Nevada to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of...

Uncertain fate of ACA and 2017 rules creating exemptions to contraceptive coverage

In a 2-1 decision on December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit declared the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) individual health insurance mandate unconstitutional as a result of Congress's elimination of...

Tips for responding calmly to Maine Human Rights Commission complaints

Thinking about employment discrimination claims, business owners might assume that if an individual were to file one, they would be served with a lawsuit. It might surprise small business owners checking their mail, then...

The race to regulate picks up as November election approaches

A continuing theme of the Trump administration has been to reduce the burden of regulations on American businesses. One of the earliest indications of the seriousness of that pledge was the administration's unprecedented...

Suspension becomes a termination, which becomes retaliation

When an employee responded to a suspension notice by sending an e-mail stating simply, “I sue,” his employer fired him. Unsurprisingly, he sued, and an appeals court found his termination was retaliatory. Facts Nityanand...

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Employment Law Letter

Connecticut Editors