Every day, companies have a chance of being notified of a claim or government audits. Some may seem simple on the surface, but small and midsize companies can be more crippled if an audit or claim strikes. While a simple detail…
Employment Law
When workers aren’t protected from deadly fall hazards, OSHA issues significant penalties, as this recent case from Illinois shows. KW Framing Inc. – a Chicago-area framing contractor – is no stranger to workplace safety violations, according to OSHA. The agency…
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that a Texas contractor permitted a safety lapse that led to the death of an employee. The agency has proposed penalties totaling $260,848 against CMD Contractors, Inc., which…
A new EEOC lawsuit is taking aim at an employer that allegedly violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to allow telework as a disability-related accommodation. The new suit highlights a question that is relevant for all ADA-covered…
An employer broke the law by implementing a safety policy that required employees to come to it first before going to regulatory authorities with safety concerns, the Department of Labor has determined. As a result of the agency’s investigation, the…
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a New Jersey water tower painting company for three willful and 19 serious violations after finding the contractor failed to provide safety equipment that would’ve prevented an employee from falling 80…
A state court decided that a settlement agreement resolving a workers' comp claim did not require an employer to pay for surgery that was recommended years after the work injury. The reason: The worker did not prove that the work-related injury…
Evolving cannabis legislation makes employee drug testing trickier than ever. But if an employee fails two drug tests in a row, it’s probably safe to move forward with termination, right? That’s likely what company leaders at Airgas USA were thinking…
When the Federal Trade Commission announced its final rule banning most non-competes as an unfair method of competition in April, it devoted plenty of time and effort to explaining why it firmly believed it has the authority to impose such…
Question: Do employees have to be paid for the time spent booting up and shutting down computers? Though the question sounds quite simple, it's at the center of a long-running FLSA dispute that the Ninth Circuit recently heard for a…
Snap Inc. – the parent company of Snapchat – has agreed to pay $15 million to resolve gender discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims brought by female employees of the social media platform, the California Civil Rights Division (CRD) has announced.…
Do you know what the top hazard is for workers in the construction industry? An Illinois construction contractor is well aware of it, now that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has hit it with a six-figure penalty following several…
Dollar General, a nationwide discount retailer, has agreed to make comprehensive workplace safety improvements in its stores nationwide and pay $12 million in penalties, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced. The agreement resolves multiple OSHA investigations into alleged…
An EEOC suit filed against a government contractor has ended with an agreement that calls for the contractor to pay more than $1 million and take other steps to resolve charges that it discriminated against employees with disabilities in violation…
Microaggressions at work are everyday slights, insults, putdowns and offensive behaviors that, cumulatively, take a toll on employees from underrepresented communities. They can be accidental – or intentional. Either way, left unchecked, microaggressions in the workplace can negatively impact careers,…
An employee who said work caused his hearing loss applied for workers’ compensation benefits. But unfortunately for him, he also provided testimony that cast doubt on the assertion that his hearing loss was caused by exposure to noise at work.…
