Latest News
Ensuring Your Employment Application Is Lawful
The days of the “one size fits all” employment application may soon be coming to an end. As federal, state, and local governments increasingly heighten employer hiring process requirements, national employers must be diligent to avoid getting tripped up by...
Medical Providers Pay $30K, Change Disability Inquiry Policies to Resolve Suit
Pulmonary Specialists of Tyler (PSOT) and Sleep Health have agreed to pay $30,000 and change their policies and practices to settle allegations that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when they required employees to respond to unlawful medical...
NLRB Weighs in on Confidentiality, Personal Use of Company Email, and Other Workplace Policies
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has once again clarified whether certain types of employee handbook policies will violate federal labor law. Specifically, the NLRB took the position that: it is unlawful to require employees to keep employee handbooks...
EEOC Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit; Settles Disability, Pregnancy, Transgender, and Pay Bias Suits
In unrelated developments, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the filing of a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against a Colorado employer, and the settlement of disability, transgender, and pay discrimination lawsuits against...
Average Hourly Earnings Decrease 0.3% in March, CPI for all items Increase 0.4%
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.3 percent from February to March. This result stems from a 0.1-percent increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.4-percent increase in the Consumer...
DOL Issues Guidance on Compensability of Company-Sponsored Volunteer Work
According to a recent Opinion Letter released by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), to avoid a finding that an employee’s volunteer time is compensable, the employer must refrain from directly or impliedly coercing its employees to participate. In other words,...
The ADA Interactive Process
Most employers are well aware that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and similar state laws, require employers to engage in the “interactive process” when an employee requests a disability accommodation. According to the Equal Employment...
Employer Pays $250K To Resolve Disability Discrimination Suit
JBS Carriers, Inc. has agreed to pay $250,000 to settle allegations that the national trucking company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it unlawfully screened out applicants with disabilities for truck driving jobs. It also agreed to drop the...
Terminating Employees Who Are Critical of Employer on Social Media
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been aggressive in terms of ordering the reinstatement of employees terminated for posting comments online regarding their terms and conditions of employment, including comments that are critical of their employers. A...
DOL Announces Proposed Joint Employer Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its existing regulations regarding whether a business qualifies as a joint employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires covered employers...