Maternity leave is an important employee benefit, and many U.S. employers are legally required to provide it. Put simply, maternity leave is time off from work for new mothers. This time off can be paid or unpaid. It is important…
Employment Law
Paternity leave – both paid and unpaid – provides multiple benefits for employers and employees alike. In the U.S., both mothers and fathers have a federal legal right to take leave for the birth of a child and bonding within…
Heads up, HR: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will begin enforcement of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) later this month. The good news is, the agency just released two new tools to help…
An Illinois skilled nursing facility's pregnancy policy just cost it $400,000. According to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Symphony Deerbrook LLC had a pregnancy policy that required its employees to tell it when they were…
In this case, the EEOC sued on behalf of three Hispanic women who alleged that two C-suite executives in Texas created a hostile work environment. Who was involved: Alden Short and Hinson Jennings, a Dallas-based property management company, and three…
When it comes to tattoos at work, how much power do employers have to give a thumbs up or say no go? If you don’t know the answer, you’re running the risk of exposing yourself to a possible lawsuit –…
As the gig economy continues to grow and organizations seek to build their talent by hiring an independent contractor workforce (freelancers, 1099 workers, gig workers), understanding what’s required of an organization using independent contractors is critical. For HR teams, this…
FMLA obligations don’t kick in unless an employer qualifies as a “covered employer” under the statute. Sometimes, determining whether an employer is covered can get a little tricky. The questions abound: How many employees must be retained? For how long?…
In recent months, companies have faced an increasing number of lawsuits that stemmed from opposing political views, from face masks and company dress codes to "woke" training and anti-bias initiatives. In this case, the company juggled Title VII rights involving…
A newly filed lawsuit says a New Jersey nursing home's job termination of a longtime worker violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The employee's lifting restriction did not prevent her from doing her job, the suit alleges, and the…
What should an employer do if an employee says anti-bias training clashes with their religious beliefs? A new federal appeals court ruling backed an employer’s decision to terminate an employee who presented that objection and refused to attend the training.…
An HR director received a six-figure settlement to settle her age discrimination claim. Here's what happened: An overseas company hired a new president to run a location in the state of Georgia. Things quickly turned problematic, the HR director said,…
A recent settlement secured by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provides a basic lesson on how not to respond to requests for religious accommodation. The case involved Sylvia Coleman, who worked as a detention officer for the Lansing police…
Selecting a job candidate who is much younger than others can raise the specter of age bias – but employers are not handcuffed from doing so. They should, however, be prepared to show that the decision was based on a…
The Eighth Circuit revived a First Amendment retaliation claim filed by a police officer who said he was forced to resign over a video that criticized the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The city’s police department created a group text…
Building on a growing trend, a new NLRB ruling restricts the ability of employers to include confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements for non-supervisory employees. The board’s ruling in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58, reverses two Trump-era NLRB…
