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Employment Law

Payroll pro & con: To auto-deduct for meals or not

06/20/2024
The reasoning behind auto-deducting meal breaks is simple: Employees no longer need to think about it and you no longer have to deal with those who forget to clock in and out. In theory, auto-deducting eliminates wage overpayments and faulty regular rate and overtime calculations. But there are issues you need to resolve before you buy into auto-deductions.

He said, they said: No records puts employer in a messy place

06/20/2024
Lawsuits for unpaid overtime aren’t always so cut-and-dried. They can come in layers, with each layer costing you more. The 5th Circuit ruled that an employer could be liable for unpaid overtime if it misclassified workers as independent contractors, even though the workers had scant evidence of their unpaid overtime.

Court rejects PWFA challenge, rules to take effect June 18

06/17/2024
Final rules for enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can take effect as scheduled on June 18, now that a federal court in Arkansas has rejected a lawsuit contesting abortion-related provisions of the law.

Supreme Court Starbucks ruling reins in NLRB

06/17/2024
In a unanimous decision handed down June 13, the U.S. Supreme Court made it harder for the National Labor Relations Board to intervene in employers’ decisions.

Court: Denying transgender-care coverage violates Title VII

06/17/2024
For the first time, a federal appeals court has ruled that an employer that provides health insurance for its employees violates Title VII if it refuses to cover transgender care. That, in the words of the court, violates Title VII’s sex-discrimination provisions because it denies transgender workers the same benefits other employees are entitled to.

Gender identity on the docket: Lawsuit slams EEOC’s anti-harassment guidance

06/17/2024
When the EEOC issued new final enforcement guidance on all forms of harassment in April, the agency included guidance on gender identity, dress codes, bathroom use and pronoun choice. A  group of 18 state attorneys general have filed suit, alleging that the guidance goes too far.

Stamp out gender stereotyping, the workplace curse that can trigger both discrimination and harassment claims

06/13/2024
Your training programs must address the legal perils that arise when managers and supervisors base decisions on prejudiced assumptions about employees who belong to protected classes. Ensure your training also covers how to prevent, identify, stop, report and fix harassment when it is uncovered.

Sexual harassment, bathrooms and pronouns

06/13/2024
Everyone has the right to their own belief structures. However, shrouding a discriminatory belief in a cloak of “religious liberty” to justify one’s actions is dangerous.

How to accommodate employees who have Tourette Syndrome

06/13/2024
It may be tempting to place a worker with Tourette Syndrome in a back-of-the-house position out of fear that customers may react badly to the employee’s tics. Such purposeful segregation may violate the ADA. Instead of worrying about public reaction to the tics, focus on how the person’s skills and experience match job requirements.

Be sure to document the reasonable factors on which you base all hiring decisions

06/13/2024
Courts rarely second-guess hiring decisions as long as they are based on objective, reasonable factors, backed with documentation.