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Employment Law

NLRB spells out relief for victims of unfair labor practices

09/14/2021
National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has directed NLRB regional officials to ensure workers and unions harmed by violations of the National Labor Relations Act “are made whole for losses they have suffered.”

Warn bosses about bias against addiction disability

09/09/2021
Refusing to hire someone because of the nature of their disability violates the ADA. That includes making harsh judgments about applicants who may have a disability related to addiction. It doesn’t matter whether the disability was triggered by the individual’s arguably poor choices.

Small employer? FLSA probably still applies

09/09/2021
Most private-sector employers must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage-and-hour rules, regardless of size. The law applies to employers that do a reasonable amount of business while engaged in interstate commerce.

DOL could use EEO-1 data against employers

09/09/2021
A recent policy change by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs could open the door for more federal scrutiny of employers’ employment practices.

Threat to report Hispanic workers is harassment

09/02/2021
Telling Hispanic workers they will be reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can constitute harassment based on national origin. If employees complain to the EEOC, prepare to pay.

Investigate before firing alleged FMLA ‘liar’

09/02/2021
Generally, employers are allowed to fire employees they believe lied about their need for FMLA leave. But there is an important proviso: The employer must act in good faith, showing it conducted an investigation into whether the employee was entitled to leave or not.

Lawsuit: Confederate flag signals harassment

08/26/2021
Most employers train supervisors to spot signs of a hostile work environment and fix it before an unhappy employee sues. The trick is to recognize the red flags—sometimes literally.

EEO-1 deadline extended to Oct. 25

08/24/2021
The EEOC has again pushed back the deadline for employers to submit their 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 reports.

Court tosses California gig-worker ballot initiative

08/24/2021
A California judge has ruled unconstitutional a state ballot initiative that allowed gig-economy platforms such as Lyft and Uber to classify drivers as independent contractors.

Manage religious exceptions to the vaccine

08/19/2021
The EEOC has clearly said it’s legal for employers to require covid-19 vaccinations. But the agency also said employers must offer accommodations to employees who cannot get the vaccine for disability-related reasons or due to “sincerely held” religious beliefs or practices, as long as the accommodation does not impose an “undue hardship” on the organization.