Policies
Federal District Court Found That Employer Did Not Violate Title VII in Prohibiting Black Lives Matter Attire
Over the past couple of months, we have been asked by our clients if there been any court rulings on whether companies can limit employees from wearing Black Lives Matter and other social justice attire to work. The answer is Yes. During this pandemic and the political and social unrest underlying the Black Lives Matter…
Read MoreIt’s Time Again for Employers to Ensure Handbook Compliance
It is early in 2021 and already the NLRB has before it ALJ determinations that employee handbook policies conflict with the NLRA. When analyzing employee handbook policies, the Board generally applies the Boeing test, whereby a handbook policy’s potential interference with employee rights under the NLRA is balanced against an employer’s legitimate justifications for the policy, when…
Read MoreCheck Your Call-In Policies
A recent Third Circuit Court of Appeal decision provides great guidance on what a good call-in policy can look like. In this case the employer, Penn State Health, utilized a call-in policy that required employees to make twocalls when they wanted to request FMLA leave: First, an employee had to call to a designated “call-off” line,…
Read MoreNew Year; New You; a Look at Employee Handbooks
This can be a frantic time between the holidays, hustling to complete projects before the end of the year, and planning for the coming year. And while this is a great time to review your HR policies and employee handbooks, that project often gets put on the back burner. So, with the vigor of a…
Read MoreVaccination as a Condition of Employment: Evaluating Legal Risks of Mandatory Vaccine Policies During the Pandemic
With coronavirus vaccines receiving their emergency use authorizations from the FDA and being rapidly rolled out, employers will need to evaluate a mandatory vaccination policy that balances employee rights with novel business realities and pre-existing legal frameworks lacking clear guidance in the face of COVID-19. Under existing federal law and regulations, employers may be able…
Read MoreDefining ‘Sex’ in Title VII: The Bostock Decision and LGBTQ Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against gay, lesbian, and transgender employees in workplaces. Hayley Archer discusses the case, its potential implications, and what it means for employees in Wisconsin. In a landmark decision that is a major victory for the LGBTQ community, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled…
Read More‘Clear’ Circuit Split on Sexual Harassment Requires SCOTUS Review, Employee Says
The U.S. Supreme Court should weigh in on a Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 sexual harassment standard and resolve a “clear and important” circuit split, an employee argued in a Nov. 12 filing (Paskert v. Kemna-ASA Auto Plaza, Inc., No. 18-3623). The petition, originally filed in July, challenged an 8th U.S. Circuit Court…
Read MoreDOL Clarifies When Continuing Education and Travel Time Are Compensable
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has clarified the rules on when time spent fulfilling continuing-education requirements must be compensated under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in a recent opinion letter. In a separate opinion letter, the DOL explained when the travel time of nonexempt foremen and laborers is compensable. A main takeaway from…
Read MoreAddressing and Preventing Inappropriate ‘Shop Talk’
In a manufacturing environment, employees often work near each other, and the level of noise can cause conversations to go unheard by others not in the immediate vicinity. Like the quintessential example of “locker room talk,” “shop talk” in a manufacturing environment can walk a fine line between employee banter and inappropriate, or, in extreme…
Read MoreElection Day Leave Policies – What Employers Need to Know Before November 3
Even though it happens every four-years, it still tends to dominate the media, culture, and watercooler. We are, of course, talking about the presidential election. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, but citizens have been voting in some states since late September. As the airwaves become inundated with political ads, telephones get overwhelmed with robocalls,…
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