It’s a relatively uncommon type of Title VII claim, but it happens: An employee sues their employer based on alleged harassment not by a supervisor or co-worker but instead by a client or customer of the employer. In that situation,…
Employment Law
Workplace safety has always been a balancing act between compliance and genuine risk reduction. Nowhere is that more evident than in industries like construction, where workers face hazards ranging from falls and electrocutions to heavy equipment accidents. Despite decades of…
Under a new law in Maine, covered employers are now required to provide compensation -- or show-up pay -- to employees who report to work but have their shifts canceled or reduced. In passing this legislation, Maine joins a handful…
It’s a wildly astronomical number, and we’re not trying to scare anyone – but a recent case from New Jersey shows that employee misclassifications can be a costly mistake. The state of New Jersey recently recovered more than $19 million…
Sometimes, things can get uncomfortable or awkward at work. But to cross the line into illegal harassment, there needs to be something more: what the law calls “severe or pervasive” negative conduct or behavior. In a recent case from eastern…
Sometimes, the payment of bonuses is at the discretion of the employer. But at other times, bonus payments are required under the terms of an applicable employment agreement. When that is the case – and the bonuses aren't paid –…
Intrusive, intimate questions. Unwanted physical contact. A senior official publicly engaging in inappropriate conduct at an office holiday party. That’s what happened at a county public defender’s office, according to a sexual harassment complaint submitted to the California Civil Rights…
HR pros can learn a lot about how to deal with alleged race discrimination at work from a new federal appeals court decision. The appeals court rejected the appeal of two former employees and upheld a ruling for the employer.…
Having trouble deciding whether an employee is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? A ruling from a federal appeals court in a case from Texas provides some help. The court ruled that a highly compensated employee -- a…
It’s one thing to have a workplace where morale is low and people just aren’t happy, but it’s quite another to have a work environment that crosses the legal line into unlawful discrimination. As an HR pro, you obviously want…
A California judge has approved a $43.25 million settlement resolving a class-action lawsuit that alleged The Walt Disney Company violated equal pay principles by paying male employees more than female employees for similar work. The settlement ends a six-year…
Normally, an employee’s travel or commuting time is not compensable travel time under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. But when employees travel overnight and stay away from home, different rules apply. A federal appeals court FLSA decision in a…
Employees who have experienced workplace discrimination are far more likely to be quietly polishing their resumes, according to ADP’s People at Work 2025: A Global Workforce View. The survey drew from a stratified random sample of nearly 38,000 working adults.…
Female employees in Michigan said they endured ongoing sexual harassment at work – but management didn’t step in to stop it. That’s when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) got involved – and the company now faces a six-figure settlement.…
How bad does a job action have to be to create a right to sue? Sometimes, the answer is easy. For example, if an employee is terminated or demoted for a bad reason, that clearly counts as an adverse employment…
A new decision from a federal appeals court has an important message for HR pros about the scope of the ADA’s ban on retaliation. The message: The ADA’s anti-retaliation provision is expansive, and it can even be used by employees…
