The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been very busy over the last year. Among other things, it has focused on workplace rules, as an employer in the Midwest recently learned the hard way. It ended up paying $297,000 to…
Employment Law
An employer may be responsible for birth defects allegedly caused by its workers’ exposure to toxic chemicals, a state appeals court in Illinois has ruled. This case involves Marcus Ledeaux and Enrique Daniel Araballo, who each had a parent who…
A new OSHA rule – the so-called “walkaround” rule – clarifies that employees may designate a non-employee third party, such as a union rep, to be their representative and accompany OSHA inspectors during workplace safety inspections. The final rule was…
A termination is justified if an employee is caught stealing, right? Not necessarily. This case shows that everything isn’t black and white — especially when managers make mistakes during the termination process. Key takeaways for HR: Not every manager has received…
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law SB 1515, which amends the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and the Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) program. The amended legislation, which aims to reduce leave stacking and better align the two overlapping leave…
A federal court in Texas addressed safety training claims raised by a Home Depot worker who was injured while using a ladder to retrieve a bag of firewood. Notably, the court rejected a claim that the store did not provide…
The use of recreational and medical marijuana is an evolving area of employment law, which can make things a bit tricky for employers trying to maintain safe working conditions. In light of the rapidly changing laws, a lot of folks…
When an ADA accommodation claim is based on the denial of a request to be excused from performing a specific job function, there’s one defense that works best. The ideal response for the employer: Excusing performance of the job function…
As an HR pro, you know the importance of remaining professional while interviewing an internal candidate. That includes both avoiding certain topics and asking the right questions. But at some point in your career, you might’ve sat in on an…
In one of the latest woke training lawsuits, a Colorado employee claimed his employer’s mandatory DEI training created a hostile work environment. When the case reached the Tenth Circuit, the appeals court affirmed a ruling in the employer’s favor. Even…
AI is a tremendously powerful – and potentially helpful – tool for HR pros. But as an ongoing court case in Massachusetts shows, it comes with dangers that are sometimes hard to detect – and can land employers in court…
This case involves a tragedy that may – or may not – have been avoidable. Either way, it wasn’t a good look for the company, and it shows how crucial it is to provide regular training to managers. Pregnant worker…
A pair of rulings from two different federal district court judges in Texas have rejected federal regulation regarding the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and a new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule regarding the meaning of “joint employer.”…
A Florida law that targets “wokeness” violates the free speech rights of employers, a federal appeals court has ruled. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit backed a lower court’s decision to block the law’s enforcement. At issue…
Proving unlawful race bias can be an uphill battle for employees. HR professionals can learn a lot from court decisions that say an employee's supposed evidence of race bias fell short – or really didn't show race bias at all.…
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has filed a complaint against a Tennessee farm and its HR manager. The alleged problem: FLSA retaliation. And as a trigger warning, some of the allegations are repulsive – definitely not your typical workplace…
