How Do We Handle Drug or Alcohol Impairment in the Workplace?

Here is a question we received via email from a company with multiple locations in different states: We are a manufacturing company with facilities in multiple states. We have had a number of incidents when supervisors have suspected an employee was impaired while working due to alcohol or drug use. We are particularly concerned about…

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Pros and Cons About Zero Tolerance Policies

Recently, a white employee was fired under a company’s zero-tolerance policy when he was overheard discussing a rap artist on a company phone. In another incident, a school security guard in Madison, Wisconsin, who was Black, was fired under the school district’s zero tolerance policy when he objected to a student referring to him using…

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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…

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Employers 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…

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There 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…

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Supreme 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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