Labor & Employment Developments Blog

In this new podcast episode, recent cases and news from the world of Labor & Employment Law will be discussed, including:

Age discrimination - in Seiple v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, an employee brought an age discrimination claim and the court focused on inconsistencies between the employer’s position and the record evidence. 

Retaliation - in Scalia v. F.W. Webb Co., an employer was accused of retaliation for sending emails to employees asking about their participation in a Department of Labor investigation.

New DOL Guidance on Pandemic Related Issues - On April 26, 2021 ...

The second episode in the podcast mini-series - Termination Done Right - covers proactive steps for employers to take in connection with terminations.  These steps will help employers in the event there is litigation over a termination decision.  Steps include:

Reviewing Policies Related to Termination -  Employers should ensure that their policies provide them with sufficient discretion to terminate employees at will without requiring multi-step discipline.  Also, policies should be periodically reviewed for consistency.

Conducting Effective Investigations Before ...

There have been several new developments in 2021 that broadly impact employers’ approaches to COVID-19.   In this episode:

FFCRA Leave - The FFCRA has again been extended on a voluntary basis so that employers can offer leave through September 30, 2021.  Employers who elect to continue offering leave need to be aware of some changes to FFCRA leave.

COVID-19 Vaccinations - Last year, the EEOC issued its guidance for employers on COVID-19 vaccination policies that allows employers to require vaccinations with certain exceptions.  Several states are not considering legislation that ...

In this new podcast feature, recent cases and news from the world of Labor & Employment Law will be discussed.  In this episode:

Employee on call time - in Wesley v. Experian Information Solutions, IT employees brought claims for unpaid overtime for time they were required to be on-call to answer client questions. 

Rescinded job offer - in Goldfarb v. Solimine, the court considered a claim by an individual who quit a high paying job to accept another, only to have the offer withdrawn after he quit.

Reasonable accommodations - in Daniel v. Walmart the court considered what steps an employee ...

A significant generator of employment litigation is poorly handled terminations.  Whether your approach to litigation is to fight on principle or settle cases, a well executed termination will minimize settlement values and/or make a case more defensible.  Of course, it is impossible to eliminate the threat of litigation no matter how well you do things but over the long haul, doing terminations the right way is a sound strategy to limit exposure.

As we start a new year, here are 5 things employers may want to consider to avoid trouble:

1.  COVID-19 Plans - You probably have a plan in place but this is a good time to take stock of how it is working.  Also, employers need to consider what to do about vaccine policies as the vaccines become more widely available.  Finally, the FFCRA leave has expired as of 12/31/20 but employers may continue to offer leave through March 2021 - consider whether this makes sense for your business.

2.  Independent Contractors - How is your business using independent contractors?  Are thy properly classified as ...

As the President and Congress continue to debate the status of a new stimulus bill in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, one question on a lot of employers’ minds is what will happen to the status of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  As discussed previously on this blog, the FFCRA was passed in the early days of the pandemic as employers and employees faced uncertainty over how to respond to transmission of the virus, quarantine orders, and school closures.  The FFCRA created two new types of paid benefits—a paid sick leave benefit and a paid emergency Family ...

The big news in the employment law world this week is the EEOC has issued its long awaited guidance on COVID-19 vaccinations and the ADA, including guidance on mandatory vaccination policies. Here are the key points:

Non-compete agreements are always a hot topic when employees move around a lot and due to COVID-19, a lot of employers have had reductions in force this year.  As a result, we’ve seen an uptick in questions about non-competes.  In the typical case, an employee leaves one employer for a new employer and the former employer believes that the employee is violating his or her non-compete agreement.  Thus, in any non-compete case, there are three possible parties: 1) the former employer; 2) the employee; and 3) the new employer.

Each of these parties may make mistakes that interfere with their ...

Attorney Mark Chumley provides practical insights into the challenges facing businesses today. Employment at-will is the default rule in almost every state. Where did it come from, what does it mean and what does it do for employers today?