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Employment Law

Beware firing employee during medical testing

11/19/2020
Remind supervisors: Firing an employee while she is undergoing medical testing could easily trigger a lawsuit. Reason: It’s illegal to discriminate against an employee based on suspicions she might become ill or disabled in the future. That would amount to regarding her as disabled, which violates the ADA.

When to pay for travel time: 3 scenarios

11/16/2020
A new Department of Labor opinion letter answers questions about when employers must pay for time employees spend traveling to and from worksites. Opinion letter FLSA2020-16 addresses three scenarios.

Most employers tackled pay equity issues this year

11/16/2020
Sixty percent of employers say they are addressing pay equity in their organizations and 70% are taking action to make their workplaces more diverse, equitable and inclusive.

Biden’s DOL pick to bring pro-employee tilt

11/16/2020
The next Secretary of Labor will bring a pro-employee perspective to the U.S. Department of Labor. Almost all the contenders President-Elect Joe Biden is said to be considering for the job have close ties to labor unions.

Compelling need required to demand ‘perfect English’

11/12/2020
Ensure supervisors understand they can’t require employees to be fluent English speakers unless it’s essential to performing their jobs. Insisting on “perfect English” can easily trigger an EEOC lawsuit.

Review diversity training for EO compliance

11/12/2020
A Trump administration executive order banning federal agencies and contractors from offering many common kinds of diversity training programs is drawing fire—and legal challenges.

Online training time: DOL explains when to pay

11/12/2020
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new opinion letter that helps clarify when employers must pay workers for the time they spend undergoing training that is delivered online.

Multiple businesses? Keep corporate records straight

11/05/2020
Employees who sue for discrimination under Title VII must show that the employer has at least 15 employees. But what about businesses with common ownership that are separate corporate entities?

Lucas sworn in as EEOC’s newest commissioner

11/05/2020
Management-side employment lawyer Andrea R. Lucas has been sworn in as the fifth commissioner of the EEOC. Lucas, nominated by President Trump in March, was confirmed in September to serve a term expiring in 2025.

Unions seek binding OSHA coronavirus rules

11/05/2020
Unions have filed two lawsuits seeking to compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop mandatory pandemic-related workplace safety standards. OSHA is pushing back, maintaining that current safety standards and practices do enough to protect frontline workers.