Policies
Ordering All Employees Back to Work? Not So Fast, Says the EEOC
As vaccination rates increase and the COVID-19 pandemic (hopefully) subsides, many employers have instructed their employees to return to in-person work. But is that the right call for all employees? In one recent case, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has said no. Factual Background On September 7, 2021, the EEOC filed suit in…
Read MoreFDA Approval of Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Provides Cover for Employer Mandates
In a milestone for the public health response to the ongoing pandemic, regulators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued Monday full approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine. The two-dose mRNA vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech has been available to individuals 16 years of age and older under the FDA’s emergency use authorization since…
Read MoreEmployees Working from Home – How Should Company’s React?
With the country reopening due to the lessening of COVID-related restrictions, companies and employees are returning to a new “normal.” Remote working has become a recruiting tool for some companies. For other companies which have required employees to return to the office, the failure to continue to allow some form of remote working (“hybrid model”)…
Read MoreEEOC Greenlights Coronavirus Vaccine Requirements, Incentives — With Some Limits
Federal equal employment opportunity laws do not prohibit policies requiring that all employees who physically enter a workplace receive a COVID-19 vaccination, so long as such policies comply with the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as well as other applicable laws, according to…
Read MoreFederal 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…
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