Employment Law

Feel free to contact worker who’s on sick leave

04/03/2023

Employers should make it a point not to pester employees who are out on sick leave or ask them to perform work during their time off. However, that general principle doesn’t mean employers are absolutely forbidden to seek basic information from employees who are out sick.

3 lawsuits show EEOC is serious about COVID-related disabilities

04/03/2023

According to its most recent data, the EEOC has received about 6,000 COVID-related complaints. Of those, about 60% involve alleged violations of the ADA, including disability-discrimination claims focusing on telework as an accommodation and discrimination against workers perceived as vulnerable to serious COVID-19 outcomes.

Case of the Week: Blanket criminal history ban costs employer $2.7 million

03/30/2023

The EEOC has long taken the position that automatically barring those with criminal records from employment may disparately impact certain protected classes and therefore amount to race or national origin discrimination under Title VII. The agency says employers should evaluate each applicant’s record and assess whether the conviction is job related and a hiring ban is for a justifiable business reason.

NLRB counsel doubles down on severance agreement invalidity

03/30/2023

Back in February, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses commonly embedded in severance agreements are illegal. Now, board general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has issued a memo clarifying the scope of the decision.

Step in to stop workplace toxicity that disproportionately harms women

03/29/2023

According to new research released in the MIT Sloan Management Review, women are 41% more likely than men to experience a toxic corporate culture. The pandemic appears to have widened the toxic-culture gender gap.

Layoffs on the horizon? Check for disparate impact before you cut jobs

03/27/2023

Before finalizing your list of employees to lay off, analyze the potential impact on newly hired workers. Will the terminated employees disproportionally belong to a particular protected class?

Case of the Week: Apply your dress and grooming policies consistently

03/24/2023

You probably have a policy that spells out your dress and grooming rules, which may limit certain employee clothing choices that might offend customers, clients or co-workers. But how you enforce that rule may mean the difference between winning quick dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit or a big jury award against your organization.

New overtime rules could change duties tests in addition to salary level

03/24/2023

For over a year, the Department of Labor has been teasing the imminent release of new proposed rules raising the white-collar salary threshold that makes exempt employees eligible for overtime pay. Originally scheduled to drop in spring 2022, the update is now penciled in for May.

Bills introduced in Congress to ban noncompete agreements

03/20/2023

In January, the FTC announced a sweeping proposed regulation that would invalidate all existing noncompete agreements and free employees currently bound by them. The proposed rule is still in the comment phase and likely will face a legal challenge from business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Now, Congress has entered the fray.

Consider these alternatives to noncompete agreements