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Employment Law

Stay on the right side of NLRA when designing your dress code

01/10/2025
The National Labor Relations Act specifically allows workers to wear buttons signifying their support for a labor union. How many buttons? Recent cases brought before the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces the NLRA, have raised that very question.

Prepare now for pending military deployments related to immigration enforcement

01/06/2025
President-elect Trump has vowed to begin mass deportations of undocumented immigrants as soon as he takes office. Executing such a sweeping plan will likely require the deployment of dozens if not hundreds of National Guard units. Depending on the outcome of legal challenges that are almost certain to be filed, military-reserve units could be called to service, too.

Prepare for Trump administration’s impact on DOL

01/06/2025
With each change in administration, there’s a change in how federal agencies operate. When President-elect Trump takes office Jan. 20, expect rapid change at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Make sure your commitment to supporting military-connected employees is clear

01/03/2025
When supervisors and managers express annoyance at the inconvenience that comes with weekend drills and frequent short deployments, that’s a recipe for a USERRA discrimination lawsuit if the employee is terminated or disciplined and thinks they are being targeted for retaliation. On the other hand, if management openly supports military service, there’s a good change that a court or jury will presume the employer doesn’t discriminate.

Federal court decision may cripple NLRB authority

01/03/2025
Last month we reported on a federal judge’s ruling that struck down National Labor Relations Board rules that prevent the agency’s administrative law judges from being fired at will. The opinion could hamstring the NLRB’s ability to conduct its business of enforcing the National Labor Relations Act.

EEOC warns: ‘Wearables’ may cause workplace discrimination

01/03/2025
Wearables in the workplace are mostly perceived as benign management tools, although some complain they represent a dystopian step toward Big Brother surveillance. Now the EEOC has weighed in with a fact sheet warning that wearables could enable or perpetuate workplace discrimination and suggesting how employers can mitigate liability.

Employer lessons from 2024’s worst employee lawsuits

01/03/2025
It’s a new HR year and we’re here with some important lessons from the top four employment lawsuits of 2024. Don’t repeat these employer mistakes.

Expect to pay for ignoring persistent sexual harassment

12/23/2024
Ignoring an employee’s complaints that she was subject to ongoing sexual harassment just cost an employer more than $2 million. The EEOC sued on the employee’s behalf and won the largest damages award it has ever obtained in the Northern District of Texas, among the most conservative federal courts in the nation.

Beware requiring employee to seek counseling, which could trigger an ADA lawsuit

12/20/2024
Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for employees to claim discrimination even if their employer’s actions didn’t substantially harm them. Now, the same reasoning from Supreme Court’s Muldrow v. St. Louis decision is being applied to the ADA.

Avoid ‘overqualified’ label, often just another way to say ‘too old’

12/20/2024
Warn hiring managers to refrain from calling job candidates “overqualified.” It’s a legally explosive term that’s often construed as a polite way to call someone too old. At the very least, avoid using the term in front of applicants or in any written materials describing them, such as interview notes.