Legal
Little-Known FMLA Facts, Part 1: Under-Utilized FMLA Tools
This is the first installment of a two-part series on little-known FMLA facts. Today’s installment covers under-utilized FMLA tools. Our next installment covers FMLA traps. Under-utilized FMLA Tool #1: Using FMLA While we get questions across the full spectrum of employment issues, we estimate at least 25% concern an employee unable to perform the job’s…
Read MoreFour New Year’s Resolutions for Employers
New Year’s resolutions are common. Many people attempt a “dry” January. Others a dry February, because there are less days in the month. As we close out the first month of 2024 here are four proposed New Year’s resolutions for employers that can minimize the risk of exposure and reputational damage in this ever-changing legal…
Read MoreWellness Apps and Privacy
Employers looking to enhance their suite of employee benefit programs, and focused on lessons learned during the pandemic on wellbeing, are interested in providing greater access to wellness tools. And, the vendors who support those tools are more than happy to provide them. Global spend in the health and wellness market would be around $24.8…
Read MoreLosing Out on Talent? Offensive Language in Your Offer Letter May Be the Problem
Half of job seekers in a recent Gartner, Inc. survey reported that they backed out on an accepted job offer prior to starting. This survey suggests that employers have some issues with their hiring processes, and could be a result of employers’ heavy-handed drafting of offer letters and employment agreements. We provide advice to individuals…
Read MoreNew Year’s Resolutions For Your Employee Handbook
Employee handbook updates are a decidedly unglamorous chore, and, just like dusting your baseboards, it’s a chore that can be put off, until, that is, the in-laws (i.e., government regulators or Plaintiff’s counsel) come around with white gloves and black lights to see just how well you’ve been keeping house. While employers ought to review…
Read MoreAt a Glance: Termination of Employment in USA
Termination of employment Grounds for termination May an employer dismiss an employee for any reason or must there be ‘cause’? How is cause defined under the applicable statute or regulation? Unless the employer contractually agrees otherwise (either in an individual employment agreement or a collectively bargained agreement), most employment in the United States is at…
Read MoreDOL Issues Final Rule on Independent Contractors Under the FLSA
Last week the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Final Rule addressing how to determine whether a worker is properly classified as an “employee” or an “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Final Rule follows a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the DOL in October 2022. In the NPRM, the DOL…
Read MoreWhat to Do When You Get an EEOC Subpoena
Not surprisingly, over the last 12 months, we have had this question come up quite often from employers. The EEOC has some new laws in its arsenal (i.e., the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the PUMP Act) and is likely to release new guidance on harassment. Keeping that in mind, we anticipate investigators will be interested…
Read MoreThe New Year May Bring a Broader Scope to Title VII and Greater Potential Liability to Employers
Does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act only apply when workplace discrimination is an “ultimate employment decision” or does any disparate treatment based on an employee’s sex, race or other protected class violate the law, even if there is no tangible harm? That is the question the United States Supreme Court will be answering…
Read MoreSixth Circuit Requires Additional “Background Circumstances” Evidence for Heterosexual Plaintiffs Seeking to Prove Reverse Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a sexual orientation discrimination claim brought by a heterosexual woman who was removed from her position and denied a promotion in favor of two gay employees. The Sixth Circuit concluded that a plaintiff in this position must prove additional…
Read More