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Employment Law

Tips for managing employees with long COVID

07/08/2024
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine highlights how serious long COVID is and likely will continue to be, possibly for decades. The report says this affects about 8.9 million adults in the United States, encompassing more than 200 symptoms that involve just about every organ in the body. That means about 7% of all adults in the U.S. are affected by the condition.

Despite federal court’s narrow restriction, start complying with new OT rule

07/01/2024
Ruling on the first of two lawsuits seeking injunctions to block the rule, Judge Sean D. Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas decreed June 28 that Texas state government agencies do not have to comply with the overtime rule. All other employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act do.

McFerran nominated to serve third term on NLRB

07/01/2024
National Labor Relations Board Chair Lauren McFerran’s current term doesn’t end until December. However, if the Senate confirms her nomination again, it will ensure the NLRB retains a Democratic majority until at least August 2026, even if presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defeats Biden in November.

Employers can’t force religious conformity

06/28/2024
The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy expanded employees’ right to religious accommodations at work. Unless an accommodation creates an undue hardship, employers must allow for religious needs such as time off to worship and permission to deviate from dress and grooming codes. But what about the right of employees to be free of religion at work—or at least the religion professed by management, owners or co-workers?

DOL targets federal contractors accused of discrimination

06/28/2024
Like any other employer, companies that perform contract work for the federal government may not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race, national origin and other protected characteristics made illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other federal nondiscrimination laws. Unlike other employers, they must answer to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, a part of the Department of Labor specifically dedicated to ensuring federal contractors abide by non-discrimination rules.

Older workers could get new exemption from mandatory arbitration agreements

06/28/2024
Congress is considering legislation that would ban mandatory arbitration of disputes involving older workers covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

GOP senators attempt to block overtime rule

06/24/2024
Republican Sens. Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Mike Braun (Ind.) on June 17 introduced a resolution calling for the repeal of the Department of Labor’s final rule raising the overtime salary threshold for white-collar employees.

Lawsuits pending: Will new OT rule go into effect July 1?

06/21/2024
A new U.S. Department of Labor rule scheduled to go into effect July 1 will raise the overtime salary threshold for white-collar employees to $43,888 per year, up from the current $35,568 per year. However, a trio of lawsuits could derail those plans. All ask federal courts to prevent the overtime rules from taking effect, at least temporarily.

Prepare to comply: Final PWFA rules now in effect almost everywhere

06/21/2024
Final rules implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect June 18, with partial exceptions limited to employers in Louisiana and Mississippi, employers affiliated with the Catholic Church and state government agencies in Texas. That means almost all employers must now comply with the final PWFA rules.

Beware AI screening based on race, age and disability

06/20/2024
A class-action complaint filed earlier this year takes direct aim at the discriminatory practices inherent in AI tools. Workday, a human resource management service that provides applicant screening services as one of its capabilities, is accused of using machine-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence tools to screen out applicants who are African-American, disabled and/or over the age of 40.