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Employment Law

Is working a 16-hour shift an essential function? Maybe

08/04/2023
The ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations so disabled employees can perform the essential functions of their jobs. Generally, employers get to determine which functions are essential and which are not. Courts tend to defer to an employer’s assessment of what’s essential and what is not when determining whether a reasonable accommodation is possible. However, it’s not a slam-dunk that they will.

What the big UPS–Teamsters Union contract means for employers

08/04/2023
United Parcel Service and the Teamsters Union, which represents more than 340,000 UPS employees, have tentatively agreed to a new union contract that—if approved by rank-and-file workers—will avert a strike that threatened to shut down the U.S. supply chain just as retailers are gearing up for busy back-to-school and holiday seasons.

EEOC releases guidance on accommodating employees with visual disabilities

07/31/2023
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 18.4% of all U.S. adults are blind or have “some” or “a lot” of difficulty seeing, even when wearing corrective lenses.

How to protect against the coming explosion of anti-DEI lawsuits

07/31/2023
When the U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down Harvard University’s affirmative action admissions plan, it wrote that “[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” Now employers with diversity, equity and inclusion programs worry that their efforts to achieve a diverse workplace will come under attack, too.

Ask these questions when challenging employee requests for religious accommodations

07/28/2023
According to the Supreme Court, employers can’t justify turning down a request for a religious reasonable accommodation because of its impact on morale for co-workers who may have to pick up weekend or holiday shifts so their religious colleague can have the time off. However, nothing in the recent Groff v. DeJoy decision says employers can’t challenge up front whether an employee is eligible for religious accommodations.

Monitoring: Beware fixating on productivity

07/26/2023
Are supervisors asking to install tracking software on their remote employees’ computers and devices? They may be suffering from what Microsoft has termed “productivity paranoia.”

A matter of morals … or discrimination? Expect more cases claiming ‘expressive association’

07/24/2023
The Supreme Court ruled in June that a Colorado web designer could decline to develop sites celebrating same-sex weddings based on her First Amendment expressive freedom of association. Now a different employer—a Catholic school—is trying to argue it has the right to “expressive association” in the employment context, able to reject applicants or fire employees who don’t live up to its views on moral behavior.

AI in the workplace must conform to anti-discrimination laws

07/20/2023
Recent guidance from the EEOC covers AI in employers’ selection procedures—hiring, firing and promotion decisions—and whether using AI in this manner has a disparate impact on protected groups.

EEOC finding novel ways to drive industry change

07/20/2023
Not content just to punish discrimination, the EEOC is seeking ways to increase employment opportunities for members of protected classes.

Sink retaliation claims by engaging an outsider to investigate bias complaints

07/20/2023
Using an outside entity to investigate internal discrimination or harassment complaints helps prevent retaliation lawsuits. That’s because there’s no reason for an outside investigator to take sides in the outcome.