Donald Trump has signed numerous executive orders in just one month that significantly affect employment practice. These include orders to eliminate Diversity Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) Programs in the private sector, to replace gender with sex on federal forms, and to try to confirm two sexes – male and female for federal law purposes. The … Read more
New Hampshire employers take notice: New Hampshire recently passed two laws that expand employees’ rights in the workplace. Employee Right to Firearm Storage Last month, New Hampshire passed a law concerning gun possession and safety rights in the workplace. The law limits what employers in New Hampshire can do to stop employees from legally possessing … Read more
At the end of June, in a case called Loper Bright Enterprises, et al. v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, et al., the U.S. Supreme Court overturned precedent that had required courts for over 40 years to defer to federal agencies in how they interpreted the federal laws they are tasked with enforcing. Going forward, federal … Read more
Employers take note. There have been several key legal developments during the past month or so. Here are the highlights: Supreme Court Rules Job Transfer Need Not Show Substantial Harm to Support a Title VII Claim On April 17, 2023, in a case called Muldrow v. St. Louis, the United States Supreme Court held that … Read more
While many individuals already stopped following CDC’s isolation and quarantine rules, it was not until just recently that the agency officially relaxed their recommendations. Now it’s official. The CDC announced in its March 1, 2024 press release, that its new guidelines drop their prior guidance that had suggested that a person testing positive for COVID … Read more
Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor published its final rule for independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Briefly, the rule establishes a 6-factor basis for what it calls an “economic reality test” to evaluate whether, under the FLSA, a worker is an independent contractor or an employee. The rule takes effect … Read more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced the publication of new proposed enforcement guidance regarding Title VII anti-harassment law. Using a variety of real-life examples, the Guidance summarizes the agency’s views on the legal standard applied to harassment claims, including what types of conduct is covered, available defenses for employers, the elements of compliant … Read more
Late in August, the Department of Labor announced that it had proposed a new rule for the white collar overtime exemptions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In essence, the proposed rule seeks to substantially increase the salary requirements that allow employers to exempt a worker from the entitlement to premium overtime pay under … Read more
A new Federal law, known as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”), expands the employer’s duty to accommodate pregnancy-related conditions. The EEOC propounded new Proposed Regulations on August 7, 2023, to enforce this new law. The public can submit comment on the Proposed Regulations by October 10, 2023. Generally, employers covered by the PWFA … Read more
The United States Supreme Court’s last term was a blockbuster. The Groff v. DeJoy decision has not received the level of attention as the other cases that came down this term, but it is critically important to employers. In a unanimous decision, the Court established a new, heightened standard that will impose a much greater … Read more