Legal
IRS Orders Immediate Stop to New Employee Retention Credit Claims and Announces Future Settlement Program
The Employee Retention Tax Credit (“ERC”), enacted as a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), is a fully refundable tax credit for employers, which is up to $26,000 per eligible employee. Because of the potentially large value of the ERC to employers, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has become…
Read MoreBehavioral Misconduct Investigations: Key Challenges and How To Minimize Reputational Impact
Rarely a day goes by without at least one report of workplace misconduct hitting the headlines globally. In a post-#MeToo era, there is an ever-increasing focus from society on how organizations respond to and deal with allegations of abuse and harassment. In the last few months alone, a vast number of organizations have been the…
Read MoreBring your Pet-to-Work Policies – The Do’s, the Don’ts, and the Cautionary Notes
If you’ve ever explored our bios it’s no secret that we are huge pet lovers over here! And, being a virtual Human Resources Consulting firm, we are lucky enough to work with our furry friends daily. For workplaces that are in-office or hybrid, we have seen various workplaces try to replicate this joy by introducing…
Read MoreDepartment of Labor Proposes Exempt-Status Overhaul
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed significant increases in the compensation thresholds that must be met for employees to be classified as exempt from overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If the proposal is finalized as presented, DOL estimates that 3.6 million employees currently classified as…
Read MoreThird Circuit Court of Appeals Establishes Framework for Future FLSA Donning and Doffing Cases
On August 16, 2023, in Tyger v. Precision Drilling Corp., No. 22-1613, 2023 WL 5257688 (3d Cir. Aug. 16, 2023), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment to an oil drilling company that dismissed workers’ claims for gear-changing compensation. In doing so, the court sought to clarify…
Read MoreFifth Circuit Eviscerates a Requirement for Title VII Claims. What’s Next?
In its recent en banc opinion in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned nearly 30 years of precedent that required Title VII plaintiffs to allege that they had been subjected to an “ultimate employment decision.” As a result, a host of heretofore unactionable conduct just became subject…
Read MoreFifth Circuit Upends 30 Years of Title VII Precedent, Making it Easier for Employees to Bring Discrimination Claims
Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upended longstanding, employer-friendly precedent in cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. For decades, an employment discrimination plaintiff in the Fifth Circuit had to demonstrate the “adverse employment action” forming the basis of their complaint constituted an “ultimate employment decision”—which the Court of Appeals…
Read MoreNew Ruling from the National Labor Relations Board May Require Significant Handbook Revisions
On August 2, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision, Stericycle Inc. and Teamsters Local 628, that creates a new legal standard for how the NLRB will evaluate workplace rules and policies to determine if such rules interfere with employees’ protected rights to engage in concerted workplace activity under Section 7 of the National…
Read MoreGeneral Complaints By Other Employees Do Not Necessarily Provide Constructive Notice of Harassment
Although the employee argued that the employer should have known that she was being sexually harassed based on complaints by other employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit found that such complaints were not sufficiently similar or close in time to trigger liability for the employer. Moreover, the employer had no duty…
Read MorePre-Employment Background Checks: Considerations for Employers When Screening Prospective Employees
Employers commonly conduct background checks on prospective employees in various areas that they may think relevant when deciding whether to hire an individual for a job. Yet, federal, state, and local laws are increasingly regulating and limiting pre-employment background checks to protect prospective employees from perceived unfair or illegal treatment. Given this trend, we thought…
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