Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The COVID-19 pandemic opened the floodgates for requests to work remotely as a disability or pregnancy accommodation under state and federal law. Many employers have been unsure how to handle such requests, and there hasn’t been much guidance from the courts on the topic. But that’s changing. Here’s what one Illinois appellate court has to […]
During the pandemic, both employers and employees discovered that remote work could benefit them. Allowing remote work has expanded employers’ pool of applicants nationwide. Despite the advantages of a bigger pool of candidates and cost savings, we’re beginning to see cases stemming from employers’ inadvertent violations of other states’ laws when making work available to […]
Employers have seen an enormous number of changes recently to various rules about how they manage their employee base. This includes a notice of proposed rulemaking by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in late 2023, sweeping memoranda from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and final rules from the NLRB on joint employment. All of this is […]
In today’s workplace, many employers allow employees to play music. While this is generally a cost-effective way to improve culture, morale, and productivity; it also creates potential exposure for hostile work environment and sexual harassment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is particularly true given a recent decision from […]
Non-compete agreements, often used to protect business interests by restricting the ability of employees to enter into competition with their former employers, have been a staple in employment contracts for years. As detailed in our previous discussion on non-compete agreements published on March 4, 2024, these agreements are designed to safeguard trade secrets and investments […]
While workplaces all have unique objectives and challenges, the desire to protect your employees from unlawful harassment is universal. Employees, in their day-to-day work activities, often interact with both members of their organization and members of the public. As employers, you hope that all of your employees’ interpersonal interactions are positive. However, this isn’t always […]
Even if you are in the right when you file a lawsuit against a former employee who admittedly took your trade secrets, sometimes the reward is simply not worth the expense. Here, an employer had a former manager dead to rights in misappropriating trade secrets but still couldn’t get a jury to award a dime. […]
Following Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., the California Supreme Court’s employee-friendly Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ruling earlier this year, employers must remain more diligent than ever to prevent and mitigate costly wage and hour litigation. Estrada eliminated one of employers’ central tools to curb sprawling PAGA claims: requesting dismissal based on the court’s […]
Employers worried about the effect of a new joint employer rule are breathing a sigh of relief after a court blocked its implementation, and now employers using independent contractors may also be feeling better. A new rule from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would have made it harder for employers to avoid joint employment […]
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Massachusetts General Law Chapter 151B (Chapter 151B) both require employers to provide reasonable accommodations absent undue hardship to employees and to engage in an interactive dialogue with those who need a reasonable accommodation. Employers that fail to do so face legal liability. The recent jury verdict in Menninger […]