On June 28, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it had settled one of its first lawsuits alleging sexual orientation discrimination. The settlement—in the form of a consent decree—requires Pallet Companies, doing business as IFCO Systems (IFCO), to pay $202,200 in addition to a number of nonmonetary requirements. This landmark decree comes less than a year after the EEOC first concluded that discrimination on the basis of an employee’s sexual orientation amounted to sex discrimination.
More about the Biden vaccine mandate
Several weeks ago, I suggested that you stay tuned for the latest developments—that we wouldn’t know much about the Biden vaccine mandate until we had actually read any Presidential executive orders. Well, we can now read two of these: Presidential e
Update on worker classification: employee or independent contractor?
On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule withdrawing the Trump independent contractor rule. In the waning days of the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new final regulation about classifying
New mandatory minimum wage required for Government contractors
On April 27, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring Federal Government contractors to pay at least $15 an hour to certain employees. The order will go into effect on January 30, 2022. Before the order will go into effect, the U
Religious rights trump transgender rights
Update on EEOC v. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc.: On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision involving in this case. The court held that an employer who fires a person merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII. On August 18,
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05
Jun
29
I know, I know. I’ve already blogged about this subject—about how employers shouldn’t be asking about family medical history. But the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has once again charged an employer with violating the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). And the employer also asked questions about the disabilities of applicants in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Jun
13
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Labor Department (DOL) issued its new overtime rules. These new rules primarily address the trigger amount for exempting executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These exemptions are frequently referred to as EAP exemptions or white-collar exemptions.
May
04
As discussed in a previous post, employers cannot terminate employees for using social media to exercise their right to engage in protected concerted activity (typically seen as “unionizing”). Holding that employers cannot fight fire with fire, a recent court decision has now limited the extent of the employer’s ability to use social media to oppose “unionizing” activities.
May
02
As I have previously pointed out, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Treasury Department have been pursuing cases of misclassification of workers—that is, the practice of classifying a worker as an independent contractor instead of an employee. Employers typically resort to this approach as a means of reducing the employer’s share of withholding taxes—and several other “benefits.” See this previous discussion.