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Employment Law

Starbucks to pay $38.9 million for NYC labor violations

12/08/2025
In a case that illustrates how much even minor wage-and-hour violations can rack up huge bills, Starbucks cafés in New York City will pay over $38.9 million to workers shorted on pay or otherwise harmed by poor wage-and-hour practices.

Revised FLSA bills move forward in House of Representatives

12/01/2025
If all three bills are enacted and signed by the president, all employers would soon be able to offer comp time in lieu of overtime, the Department of Labor would be limited in which employees it considers tipped employees and the DOL’s PAID program would become an official part of the FLSA.

Supervisor authorized religious accommodation? Good luck making changes

12/01/2025
If you haven’t required supervisors to get HR involved in the approval process, you should. A supervisor’s informal accommodation can backfire otherwise, making it very hard to revoke the accommodation. That’s what happened in one recently filed lawsuit.

Insider spills what’s next for EEOC

12/01/2025
Attendees at the annual American Bar Association labor and employment law conference heard from legal experts on a wide variety of topics, including what to expect in 2026 from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The sole remaining Democrat commissioner, Kalpana Kotagal, shared her insider view of what’s been happening behind the scenes.

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.