Earlier this spring, we gave you the top five employment law changes to closely monitor in 2023, and data privacy regulations made our short list. Now, a proposed $6.9 million class-action settlement to resolve data privacy claims verifies that the issue needs to be on your radar. Data privacy class-action focuses on consent An employee […]
The basic premise of the FMLA is pretty straightforward: Eligible employees are entitled to take job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. But as HR pros know, the law has produced some tricky issues – and includes some rules that are not always readily apparent. Time for a quick FMLA quiz Here’s a pop […]
Hooters of Louisiana, LLC has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a race discrimination and retaliation suit, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) announced. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a Hooters location in Metairie subjected Black workers to a work environment that allowed offensive and demeaning remarks based on their race since at least 2017. […]
When you think of prohibited sex discrimination under Title VII, what comes to mind? How about a workplace policy that says male employees can get weekends off but females can’t do the same? Seems pretty clear that’s unlawful sex discrimination, right? But guess what? Last August, a federal appeals court ruled that the policy was […]
It’s officially back-to-school season! For HR, that means it’s time to get your ducks in a row and fall back into an efficient routine before open enrollment starts. We hope you enjoyed some well-deserved R&R this summer, whether you managed to take an extended (and, fingers crossed, unplugged) vacation or squeezed in a quick hush trip. […]
Beginning at the start of 2024, certain employers in specified industries will need to electronically submit injury and illness information to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Under the new rule, establishments with at least 100 employees in the designated “high hazard” industries must electronically submit information from their Form 300-Log of Work-Related Injuries […]
A new NLRB ruling says an employee was improperly fired for asking “the most basic of employee questions.” The question, in essence: Where’s my paycheck? This story is about Carlos Martinez, who worked as a security officer for a company called TSG. TSG had a contract to provide security services at a place called Sunny […]
When you hear “FLSA lawsuits,” you probably think about wage-and-hour disputes and overtime violations. But we’ve spotted an interesting trend in FLSA lawsuits filed this summer. Here’s what HR needs to know: Customer service reps at three big-name companies have filed class-action lawsuits, asserting they are not being paid for all time worked in violation […]
One way to win an ADA lawsuit is to show that the applicant or employee is not able to perform the job’s essential functions. To do this, employers have to know what it takes to show that a particular function is truly “essential” to the position at issue. Sometimes, that line can get a little […]
The EEOC and iTutorGroup, Inc. have reached an agreement to resolve the first AI discrimination lawsuit. The EEOC’s complaint alleged the company’s hiring software automatically rejected older applicants in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Specifically, the lawsuit claimed the hiring program software rejected “female applicants age[d] 55 or older and male […]
When it comes to religious expression at work, just how far can a company go before crossing a line? For example, earlier this summer, a California company brought in a priest to hear “confessions” of workers who cooperated with a DOL investigation. That didn’t go over well with the agency — and it resulted in […]
If the EEOC gets wind of a complaint involving sexual harassment or discrimination, the employer could end up paying in more ways than one to mitigate the damage. For example, the agency recently took a fast food franchise owner to court for allegedly failing to address harassment. The settlement was nearly $2 million. In HRMorning’s […]
A new employee-friendly ruling from the NLRB means it is time for employers to reevaluate their employee handbooks in light of a new test for determining whether workplace rules violate employee rights. Under the new test, a work rule that an employee could reasonably interpret to have a coercive meaning is presumptively unlawful. The presumption […]
Does an employer’s ADA accommodation duty extend so far as to require it to change an employee’s job schedule to help with their commute to work? A new federal court decision says the answer is “maybe.” And while that’s a frustratingly non-committal answer, it means that in the Seventh Circuit (Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin), there […]
Using arbitration agreements instead of going to court can provide big benefits for employers. Arbitration is generally faster and cheaper than litigation, and it can make it easier to avoid bad press — not to mention the unpredictability of a jury. But arbitration agreements are becoming increasingly disfavored, and employers must be careful to use […]
Does obesity count as a disability protected under the law? That’s the question a Connecticut court recently faced. An employee sued his employer alleging he was discriminated against because he was “perceived as” being disabled due to his weight. Here’s what happened, according to his complaint: The employee worked at the State Department of Correction […]
