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Employment Law

DOL cracks down on child labor violations

12/09/2022
DOL investigators found 101 teenagers worked impermissible hours at multiple McDonald’s restaurants in Pittsburgh. The DOL fined the franchisee $57,332 for violations of child labor laws at the 13 McDonald’s locations the husband and wife operated.

Submit your comments: Independent contractor or employee?

12/09/2022
Speak now! The classification (or misclassification) of workers as contractors or employees has been bedeviling employers and courts for some time. The DOL wants to revise the rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act and seeks comments from the public until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 13, 2022.

Supreme Court hears employer’s free speech versus anti-discrimination case

12/09/2022
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case that pitted a state’s anti-discrimination law against the free speech rights of a business offering its services to the public. The Court will answer whether a business can discriminate against gay customers by refusing services based on the business owner’s religious beliefs.

Ask these questions to determine what’s an essential function

12/07/2022
Whether employers must provide a reasonable accommodation depends on whether a proposed accommodation allows the disabled employee to perform the essential functions of their job. If no accommodation is possible, the employee isn’t qualified and, therefore, not protected under the ADA. You don’t have to hire or retain him.

Bill would ban caregiver discrimination

12/06/2022
The Protecting Family Caregivers from Discrimination Act would prohibit employers from firing, demoting, mistreating, refusing to hire or taking other adverse employment action against workers who are caregivers for their loved ones.

Avoid expensive pregnancy bias mistakes

12/06/2022
Give up your seat on a train or bus to a pregnant or disabled person—please do so. Provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant or disabled people at work—in these instances, you better comply. In the case of Circle K, the penalty was $8 million.

Employer must pay whistleblower $22 million

12/02/2022
Don’t shoot the messenger! That’s the lesson the Occupational Safety and Health Administration taught employer Wells Fargo in a recent whistleblower retaliation case. Wells Fargo has been ordered to pay $22 million to an internal whistleblower who raised concerns that the bank may have been engaged in illegal practices.

New year, new laws: Update your compliance!

11/29/2022
States have new laws about human trafficking reporting, hair discrimination, family leave, wage transparency, artificial intelligence and surveillance.

Could affirmative action cases affect you?

11/29/2022
The Supreme Court is pondering two cases questioning affirmative action in university admissions.

Eli Lilly defeats age-discrimination claim

11/29/2022
A sales representative who alleged age discrimination did not produce enough evidence to show a pattern of age-based harassment at pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co.