Reverse Discrimination Issues Emerge in Black Lives Matter Debate

01 November 2020 | November 2020

Moderator Chris Wallace asked President Trump during the Presidential debate why he directed federal agencies to end racial-sensitivity training that addresses white privilege or critical race theory. President Trump answered: "I ended it because it's racist."

Department of Labor Propose Independent Contractor Rule that Would Benefit Business

01 November 2020 | November 2020

Many businesses adopt an independent contractor method of utilizing workers, including the construction industry, portions of the trucking industry, franchisors, and most of the Gig economy. Since the employment laws, minimum wage and overtime rules, various forms of legal liability, are generally not applicable to independent contractor relationshi...

Uber and Others Threaten to Leave California Over Independent Contractor Rules

01 October 2020 | October 2020

Uber and Lyft threatened to suspend their passenger operations in California in late August over a new California law that requires companies to treat workers as employees rather than independent contractors if they contribute to the usual course of business. Uber and Lyft, both based in California, who have large operations in that state, argue tha...

Supplying "Sex Neutral" Bathroom Insufficient

01 October 2020 | October 2020

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has joined the Eleventh Circuit in ruling that prohibiting a transgender student's ability to use bathrooms that match his gender identity violate Title IX and equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. Grimm v. Gloucester Cty. Sch. Bd., No. 19-01952 (4th Cir., 8/26/20). The U.S. Supreme Cour...

person kneeling outside with a yellow smoke stick

Employer Confronted with Worker "Taking A Knee"

01 October 2020 | October 2020

The controversial subject of professional football players "taking a knee" during the National Anthem has now expanded to the workplace. In a recent case, an employer was confronted with an African-American employee protesting his employer's alleged racial mistreatment by taking a knee during a meeting. A supervisor asked the plaintiff to step...

TPS Status to End for Immigrants from Four Countries

01 October 2020 | October 2020

A decision from a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will end protection for about 300,000 persons who have been living in the U.S. with a Temporary Protected Status (TPS), as to immigrants from Haiti, Sudan, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Ramos et al. v. Wolf et al., No. 18-16981 (C.A. 9, 9/14/20).

washington dc congress building at night

Trump's Federal Unemployment Supplement Runs Dry as Congressional Compromise in Doubt

01 October 2020 | October 2020

In the absence of a Congressional compromise on additional pandemic federal funding, in August President Trump extended an extra $300.00 per week from the federal government to most unemployment compensation recipients, but the funding has now run out and will not extend beyond the week that ended September 5, 2020. The Administration is supposedly ...

New DOL Joint Employer Rule Rejected in Court

01 October 2020 | October 2020

Almost every employer of substantial size deals with contractors of some type, with the most common application being temporary staffing, janitorial services, franchisee-franchisor arrangements, and others. Under the Department of Labor (DOL) enforcement guidance during the Obama Administration, the guidance expanded the application of the "joint em...

coronavirus letters over a black background

Use of COVID-19 Liability Waivers and Related Approaches

01 October 2020 | October 2020

Some reports indicate that employees have filed almost 600 COVID-19-related lawsuits against their employers. As a result, about a dozen states, including Georgia, have passed laws attempting to provide some liability protection from COVID-19 liability. Georgia's law provides that an employer or other business entities may post a warning at it...

social media icons on a phone on a table

NLRB Rules Broader Restrictions in Social Media Policies are Lawful

01 September 2020 | September 2020

Employers have long sought to limit adverse comments about the employer, its management, and coworkers, with limitations in handbook and social media policies. Many of these restrictions have been successfully challenged by employees or unions on the grounds they restrict legitimate "protected or concerted" activities under the National Labor Relati...

EEOC Approves Incentives for Worker Wellness Plans

01 September 2020 | September 2020

On June 11, 2020, the EEOC commissioners voted 2-1 to move forward with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for wellness programs. The EEOC did not actually publish the NPRM and adoption of a final rule is a long way off, in terms of time and procedural steps that must be completed along the way, but the discussion at the June 11 public hearing p...

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