• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

EEOC seeks to drop 6 gender-identity lawsuits

02/24/2025
The EEOC has asked federal courts to drop lawsuits it previously filed alleging that employees experienced workplace discrimination and harassment because they are transgender.

Disabled remote worker? Think twice before demanding return to office

02/24/2025
Recently, many employers (and the federal government) have ordered most employees to return to their offices. Be careful about ordering disabled employees to do so. The EEOC just sued an employer that insisted on requiring everyone to come back to the office, despite some having disabilities.

Beware potential huge cost of small wage-and-hour mistakes

02/21/2025
When employers don’t understand wage-and-hour laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act—or worse, when they try to circumvent that law—they can find themselves on the hook for potentially costly penalties. Even relatively small violations can quickly add up.

Heed DOL opinion letter to coordinate federal FMLA with state and local requirements

02/20/2025
The letter acknowledges that under the FMLA, employees can elect to use accrued vacation, sick and workers’ comp leave for unpaid FMLA leave, and employers can require it. This substitution runs concurrent with FMLA leave until the entitlement is used up.

Bias on basis of gender identity remains illegal despite EEOC promise to reverse course

02/18/2025
In a statement, acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said the EEOC “is returning to its mission of protecting women from sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination in the workplace by rolling back the Biden administration’s gender identity agenda.” But issuing a press release does not change official policy.

Your own assets are at risk! You could be liable for FMLA mistakes

02/18/2025
A federal court has decided that employees like HR professionals and supervisors can sometimes be held personally liable for FMLA violations. That means their assets can be seized to pay damages.

Starbucks faces lawsuit claiming DEI is ‘pretext’ for discrimination

02/18/2025
The state of Missouri is suing Starbucks, alleging that the coffee chain’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs are a “mere pretext for its actual commitment to unlawful discrimination.”

Why your harassment-reporting system might be failing

02/12/2025
A survey of more than 2,000 U.S. workers reveals critical gaps in how organizations handle harassment prevention and response—gaps that could be costing businesses talent and money.

How microaggressions can lead to major legal headaches

02/12/2025
A “microaggression” is a subtle, often unintentional comment or action that conveys bias or discrimination against a marginalized group. In the right circumstances, they can amount to an adverse action that supports a workplace retaliation claim.

Chronic pain under the ADA

02/12/2025
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 51.6 million U.S adults, or 20.9% of the adult population, suffer from chronic pain. They may need periodic time off, as well as reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.