After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reduced its mask requirements for people fully vaccinated from COVID-19, we've seen a significant uptick in the number of employers calling us with...
Employment Law Letter
Just beofre the 93rd Arkansas General Assembly adjourned recently, a late surge of activity resulted in several bills being passed into law. Below are the significant employment-related measures that made the cut. Any...
The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has been increasing its compliance enforcement in the past couple of years. Recently, the WHD found a Minnesota lawn care and snow removal company...
In the months since the North Dakota Legislature convened for its 67th legislative assembly in early January, several employment-related bills reached the floor for debate. Some passed while others failed. Read on to...
A temporary worker asserted claims for race discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and battery. He settled his claims against the temp agency but tried to pursue them against the company that ran the facility. A...
President Joe Biden recently signed an Executive Order (EO) requiring certain federal contractors to pay workers on government contracts at least $15 per hour beginning January 30, 2022. Starting in 2023, the minimum...
With a recently relaunched website, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has kicked off its annual EEO-1 Component 1 Report survey for pandemic-delayed 2019 and 2020 data. The data collection will close on...
In late April 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) signaled its intent to revisit the "persuader rule," an Obama-era regulation that imposed strict reporting requirements...
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Michigan and Ohio employers) recently addressed whether a public university violated a professor's rights under the First Amendment's Free Speech and Free Exercise...
A recent Ohio federal district court decision provides a sobering reminder about the problems created when employers make assumptions about disabilities. Specifically, after finding an employee's medical condition wasn't...
The bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense barred a female corrections officer's sex discrimination claims because the county employer had proven its two-female policy was both reasonably necessary and...
As government regulations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic begin to loosen, employers with remote operations will have more opportunities to transition people back into the physical workplace. Here are key issues to...
Q Under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), if an employee willfully and knowingly disregards company policy, is she not voluntarily terminating her employment? Also, in that same vein, when does misconduct move from...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawaii Legislature recently passed (and Governor David Ige signed) a measure lowering employers’ unemployment insurance (UI) contribution rate. Lawmakers also approved and sent...
In 2019, Washington passed the first law in the nation requiring employees to fund a state-operated long-term care insurance program. The program, codified at RCW 50B.04 and set to begin on January 1, 2025, will be...