Archive for March 2023
Second Circuit Rejects Claim of Employee Fired for Refusing to Attend Training Session on LGBTQ Bias
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has rejected an employee’s claim that he was unlawfully discriminated against based on religion after he refused to attend mandatory LGBTQ anti-discrimination trainings. In Zdunski v. Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES, No. 22-547 (2d Cir. Mar. 13, 2023), the plaintiff sued his former employer, a public organization that…
Read MoreFLSA Permits Employers to Dock PTO for Productivity Shortfalls, 3rd Cir. Says
An employer did not run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act when it deducted paid time off from workers who failed to meet productivity goals, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday (Higgins v. Bayada Home Health Care Inc., No. 21-3286 (3d Cir., March 15, 2023)). Bayada Home Health Care Inc. maintained…
Read MoreEmployers Beware: The NLRB Limits Severance Agreements
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) is making waves yet again. This time the NLRB has held that certain confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements violate Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act), which is another significant step in the NLRB’s continued push to expand the protections…
Read MoreThere Are No ADA Protections for Unknown Disabilities
A recent case reiterates the point that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is not possible for an employer to discriminate against an employee for a disability of which it did not know, and that it need not provide accommodations for the unknown disability. Moreover, an employer need not rescind discipline if it later…
Read MoreSupreme Court Decision Impacts FLSA’s Overtime Rules
All employers should be aware of the recent decision by the United States Supreme in Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt dealing with exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Hewitt court held that a well-compensated employee paid a daily rate, rather than a fixed weekly or monthly salary, was not exempt…
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