June is upon us, and with June comes controversial U.S. Supreme Court decisions. This year, that will include a decision on same-sex marriage. At this time of year, it’s always good to prepare your managers for dealing with coffee-break conversations about these controversial employment-related topics. If they become heated, such conversations can cause hurt feelings. Although those hurt feelings are no big deal from an employment perspective, hostile-work-environment allegations can start with a few words about the latest decision. Employers should be careful to monitor such discussions—especially the ones having to do with rights of same-sex couples or transgender employees.
New Overtime Rule 2.0 (2019)
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule that would make more than a million American workers potentially eligible for overtime. This eligibility would come about by changing the threshold for salaries that trigg
Alabama law about firearms in the workplace
A business recently asked us about the Alabama firearms-in-the-workplace law, found at § 13A-11-90 of the Code of Alabama 1975. Concern about firearms in the workplace is certainly rational because of recent shootings at workplaces, as well as at pla
No size requirement for local governments to be sued for age discrimination
Today, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, a case we have been tracking over the last year. The ruling expands the scope of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to allow claims against lo
OFCCP has changed its approach to compensation discrimination
On August 24, 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) changed its approach to investigating compensation discrimination. The OFCCP issued Directive 2018-05 entitled “Analysis of Contractor Compensation Practices During a Comp
FMLA certification questions cause major headaches
In a case decided just last month, a federal court in Alabama illustrated the potential risk of making a fairly simple mistake under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Summary of facts The plaintiff-employee was hired as a full-time materials handl
Jun
11
Jun
10
Last month, Lanier Ford attorney Lauren Smith wrote about the EEOC’s federal-sector decisions involving application of the anti-discrimination protections of Title VII to transgender employees. The blog post noted that the federal-sector decision was not binding on private employers, but nonetheless gives important insight into the EEOC’s position on this issue.
Jun
09
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously provided some guidance about whether conciliation efforts between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and an employer accused of employment discrimination can be judicially reviewed. This guidance came in the case of Mach Mining, LLC, v. EEOC, decided on April 29, 2015.
Jun
03
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced new guidelines on June 1, 2015, for restroom access for transgender workers. The guidelines, which are not official standards or regulations, set out OSHA’s best practices for employers with transgender employees. These best practices include having written policies to ensure that all employees—regardless of gender—have prompt access to appropriate sanitary facilities that correspond with the employee’s gender identity.
May
29
A recent Presidential memorandum and a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision are likely to make a big difference in whether employers have to pay overtime to some managerial, administrative, or professional employees.