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Employment Law

EEOC damage awards fell dramatically in FY 2023

05/28/2024
Employers paid $22.6 million in monetary damages for violating federal anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws in fiscal year 2023, according to EEOC statistics released in May.

EEOC charges jump for second straight year

05/28/2024
Employees filed 81,055 discrimination and harassment charges in FY 2023, compared to 73,485 the year before and 61,331 in FY 2021, a year in which EEOC activity lagged because of COVID lockdowns.

Employer groups sue to block DOL’s new overtime rule

05/24/2024
A coalition of trade associations has filed a sweeping lawsuit asking a federal court in Texas to postpone the rule’s July 1 effective date, stop the rule from taking effect and forbid the DOL from “taking any action whatsoever” to implement the rule.

Biden vetoes resolution blocking NLRB joint-employer rule

05/20/2024
The rule would have made it easier for workers filing unfair labor practices charges to claim they work for more than one employer.

Employees reclassified? Time to start training managers

05/20/2024
You say you have already responded to the Department of Labor’s new overtime salary threshold by reclassifying some white-collar employees as overtime-eligible nonexempts? Congratulations! Now comes the hard part—training managers in the finer points of the Fair Labor Standards Act before the new rules take effect on July 1.

The OT clock is ticking: Will you be ready for the new rule by July 1?

05/20/2024
Some employers are responding to the U.S. Department of Labor’s new white-collar overtime salary threshold rule by reclassifying some exempt employees into overtime-eligible nonexempts. In other cases, they’re planning to avoid additional overtime by raising pay above the new salary threshold. How far along are you? You now have just over one month to comply with the Department of Labor’s new rules, which take effect July 1. Here’s what you need to do now.

Avoid the wage-and-hour mistake that just cost an employer $229 million

05/17/2024
A jury recently reminded a Washington state employer that rounding time in a way that deprives employees of pay—even if it’s just pennies—can trigger a class-action lawsuit with a huge payout.

No, you can’t use high medical costs as an excuse to terminate a sick worker

05/13/2024
A car dealership is out $325,000 and must train managers and supervisors on the ADA and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Employ low-skill, entry-level workers? Avoid EEOC’s anti-discrimination crosshairs

05/08/2024
“Protecting individuals seeking entry-level or temporary jobs from discrimination” is an EEOC enforcement priority. For employers, that means low-skill, entry-level hiring patterns will be scrutinized for any sign that some applicants aren’t being hired because of their protected class.

Beware the high cost of tolerating a racially hostile environment: $20.5 million

05/08/2024
A former employee has won a huge jury award over allegations that a supervisor and co-worker created a racially hostile work environment that the company failed to fix.