Employment Law

Co-worker discomfort is no excuse for transgender discrimination

05/30/2025

Sometimes, our differences may clash in ways that seem impossible to reconcile. It’s hard to make everyone happy. That doesn’t absolve employers from the obligation to try.

DEI, immigration, LGBTQ+ protections top list of pressing HR concerns

05/30/2025

Earlier this year, the Littler Mendelson law firm surveyed 350 in-house lawyers, business executives and HR professionals and asked them what their greatest concerns were for managing employees this year. Here are their top three.

Court vacates transgender-related portions of EEOC anti-harassment guidance

05/27/2025

Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction that said the EEOC exceeded its authority in 2024.

The latest cost of failing to accommodate employee’s religion: $13 million

05/27/2025

The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy made it much harder for employers to justify denying an employee’s request for religious accommodations. Since then, most refusal-to-vaccinate lawsuits have been settled in favor of employees.

To preserve exempt status, pay employees on a weekly salary basis, not by the day

05/23/2025

The Supreme Court agreed with a highly compensated employee who argued that because he was paid a daily rate, he wasn’t being paid on a salary basis. Now a federal appeals court has applied that logic to another employer.

Bill would cut federal income tax on overtime wages

05/19/2025

Republican legislators in the House of Representatives and Senate have introduced the Overtime Wages Tax Relief Act, which would allow employees to deduct up to $10,000 in overtime pay from their federal income taxes.

House legislation would expand paid family leave

05/19/2025

A bipartisan group of members of Congress have introduced two pieces of legislation that would expand access to paid family leave. The product of two years of work by the House Paid Family Leave Working Group, the twin initiatives would facilitate federal support of state programs.

Use these 3 factors to review ‘stay-or-pay’ agreements

05/15/2025

Employers should review their agreements to ensure that under state law, they constitute valid contracts. The answer will depend on each state’s contract and other laws. To increase the likelihood that a stay-or-pay contract will pass muster, review it with an eye toward these factors.

Understand the difference between legal and illegal DEI

05/15/2025

Quotas and preferences based on protected characteristics are unlawful. But what if you want to improve representation of marginalized groups in your workplace, and do it legally? Thankfully, the EEOC has long offered guidance.

Offer health benefits to all, regardless of age

05/12/2025

Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, it’s illegal to offer different benefits to workers ages 40 and older than you offer to younger employees. That’s true even if it costs you more to provide the same benefits to older workers.