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Employment Law

Employers must inform workers they’re eligible for intermittent leave

11/24/2025
The FMLA obligates employers to let workers know how much leave they have available and what happens when they run out. Failing to inform workers about their rights is FMLA interference.

New year brings new employment laws

11/24/2025
It’s that time of year—2025 will soon appear in the rearview mirror, and when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, new state laws will go into effect. Here’s a summary of some of those laws that may impact your operations.

Baristas strike while federal court upholds Starbucks ULP charge

11/24/2025
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a barista involved in one of the earliest attempts to organize won a challenge to her firing. That may force Starbucks to rethink its efforts to fight union organizing by essentially punishing the workers involved.

Salary history bans show measurable progress in closing pay gaps

11/24/2025
Using large-scale labor market and job-posting datasets, researchers found that removing past pay from negotiations not only increases transparency and boosts starting salaries but also delivers outsized gains for women and nonwhite workers whose prior earnings often reflect structural inequities rather than true market value.

Don’t let FMLA leave requirements dampen the holiday spirit

11/19/2025
Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 fall on Thursdays this holiday season. Thursday holidays usually pressure employers into giving the following Friday off. After all, no employer wants to play the Grinch this holiday season. Thursday holidays, however, don’t eliminate all of the FMLA leave considerations you must address.

As religious litigation increases, take these steps to prove undue hardship

11/17/2025
Here’s what you need to do before claiming that approving religious accommodations would create an undue burden.

Republican HELP Committee members propose new labor laws

11/17/2025
The proposed bills include one that would make it harder to file unfair labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Another would punish unions for trying to organize undocumented immigrants. Here’s a summary of the proposals.

Employers aren’t always liable for third-party harassment

11/17/2025
Last month, we told you about a federal appeals case that ruled that an employer may not be liable for third-party sexual harassment that occurs off-premises even if the harasser is a client or customer. Now, another federal court has ruled that an employer isn’t liable for third-party harassment on the premises, either.

New lawsuit highlights difficulty in balancing pregnancy protections

11/10/2025
At least three federal laws provide time off for employees during and following pregnancy—good news for new mothers, bad news for the confusion it causes employers.

Employers may soon face broader sexual assault liability

11/10/2025
The American Law Institute recently approved a change to recommended interpretations of tort law to include employer liability for sexual assaults. Its recommendations are widely used by judges when deciding whether an employer broke the law.