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Employment Law

Retailers face employees’ covid-related lawsuits

02/18/2021
By early February, almost 200 employees had filed covid-related lawsuits against their retail employers.

Hold off turning remote staff into contractors

02/18/2021
As a potential cost-saving measure, some employers have begun contemplating converting remote employees to independent contractor status. Not so fast!

Change is coming to NLRB: New leadership, rescinded memos

02/16/2021
Between appointing a new lead attorney and acting to reverse several recent labor-relations memoranda, the Biden administration is moving swiftly to undo Trump-era actions that affected the labor landscape.

Facing EEOC complaint? Consider conciliation

02/16/2021
When the EEOC decides to sue for discrimination, that means an employer will soon be in for a long, costly legal battle. However, the EEOC is statutorily required to attempt to resolve findings of discrimination through “informal methods of conference, conciliation and persuasion.”

Google $3.8M settlement shows equal-pay risk

02/11/2021
Ignoring your obligation to provide equal pay for equal work can be expensive. Google just agreed to pay millions to fix illegal pay disparities. Advice: Ferret out pay imbalances before a federal agency (or class-action lawyer) decides to make an example of your organization.

Amazon fights back hard against union organizing

02/11/2021
A high-profile effort to unionize Amazon employees in Alabama has triggered a high-alert response from the online retail colossus.

Obtain informed consent before covid testing

02/11/2021
Employers must ensure employees understand the impact workplace covid-19 will have before they agree to be tested, according to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.

EEOC lawsuits take aim at pregnancy bias in hiring

02/03/2021
There has never been a better time to remind hiring managers that they may not discriminate against pregnant job applicants. The EEOC has made enforcement of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act a priority. Two recent cases show how seriously the EEOC takes this issue.

Explain: pregnancy accommodations temporary

02/03/2021
If the worker takes FMLA leave, she’s entitled to return to her old job when leave is over. Without clear records that the employer means the accommodation to be temporary, she may later argue she was denied reinstatement to the last position she held.

11th-hour changes could reduce EEOC suits

02/03/2021
Days before President Biden was inaugurated, the outgoing EEOC chair, Republican Janet Dhillon, made substantial changes that will take time for Democrats on the commission to undo.