Employee Relations
Why Do You Need a Handbook Disclaimer and What Should Be In It Anyway?
If you’re like most employers right now, you’re in the process of reviewing your Employee Handbook to see if it needs to be updated. A recent Alabama state court decision offers valuable lessons to all employers with employee handbooks (not just those in Alabama) on the importance of a properly drafted handbook disclaimer. Now, in…
Read MoreHow to Navigate a Reduction in Force
Over the course of your business life, there may come a time when you are faced with the difficult but necessary decision to lay off some employees as part of a reduction in force or other restructuring initiative at one or more of your locations. There are a wide array of laws that may impact…
Read MoreContractor Agreements Subject to Federal/State Law Prohibitions on Confidentiality and Nondisparagement
In yet another example of laws blurring the distinction between employees and independent contractors, organizations need to beware that the prohibitions on confidentiality and nondisparagement agreements embodied in the federal Speak Out Act and various state laws often are equally applicable to independent contractor agreements. The motive behind these prohibitions is driven by the egregiousness…
Read MoreEmployers, Don’t Forget About the Flu!
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers did not have flu-specific policies and procedures (healthcare employers being one significant exception). However, seasonal flu can be a serious and dangerous illness, and employers should not treat it lightly. Many of the lessons we collectively learned from COVID-19 are equally applicable to the flu. And employers should…
Read MoreRetaliation Mistake Leads to a Costly Payout
Race discrimination is bad enough, but an Oklahoma-based company recently learned the hard way that adding a retaliation mistake on top of that can lead to hefty settlements. American Piping Inspection, Inc. has agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a race-based discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC on behalf of a Black employee…
Read MoreCongress Expands Protections for Pregnant Employees and Employees Who Are Nursing
On December 22, 2022, the 117th Congress passed with bipartisan support an omnibus spending bill, which includes two measures that expand rights for pregnant and nursing workers: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). President Biden is expected to sign the bill before the…
Read MoreAppellate Court Addresses How Much Information Employee Must Submit to Support an Accommodation Request
One of the many difficult issues employers face under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is determining what information a disabled employee must provide to an employer to trigger the employer’s duty to accommodate a disability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addressed that question for the first time in Owens v.…
Read MoreWith Flu Season Upon Us, OSHA Signals That Employers Should Continue To Encourage Vaccination For Their Workforces
With concerns of infectious disease at the forefront of workplace health and safety in the past several years, and with the traditional flu and cold season upon us, OSHA has reminded the regulated community to prevent the spread of infectious diseases during the holiday season by encouraging its workforce to get the flu vaccine .…
Read MoreEmployees Say Salary Isn’t Keeping Up with Inflation
Most workers say rising cost of living makes them unhappy with their pay, causes them to seek other opportunities With inflation continuing its upward trajectory, employees say their salary isn’t keeping up with the climb, and their financial stress is increasing, to boot. New data from Remote.co, a remote-work resource, finds that the vast majority…
Read MoreWhen Is the Accommodation Duty Triggered?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addressed this question under the Rehabilitation Act (which applies to federal agencies, contractors and subcontractors, but applies the same standards of analysis as the Americans with Disabilities Act), stating, “The type and extent of information that an employee must provide will depend, of course, on the…
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