So many EEOC lawsuits – so many lessons… Some recent announcements from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which is the federal agency that enforces federal anti-discrimination laws) provide some lessons for employers on possible reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act – specifically, when such accommodations already exist for the employee in question or their co-workers.

Continue Reading Don’t Deny a Reasonable Accommodation that Exists – Really!

The Maryland General Assembly’s 2023 session ended at midnight on Monday, April 10. Although there were fewer employment bills passed this year compared to recent years, several of them will have a significant impact on employers, including an expedited increase to the minimum wage rate and some clarification around and a delay to the new paid family and medical leave benefits program. There was also an expansion to the non-compete ban, as well as new authority for the Maryland Attorney General to pursue discrimination claims against employers. Finally, although the cannabis reform bill does not directly speak to the general workplace impact, there are developments of which employers should be aware. We will be holding a webinar with the Maryland Chamber of Commerce at noon on May 3, 2023 to provide guidance on compliance with these new laws.

Continue Reading New Employment Laws in Maryland – Expedited Minimum Wage Increase, Changes to Paid Family and Medical Leave, and More (and a Webinar!)

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older (and crossed over that 40-year old cutoff for protection under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) a number of years ago), but a couple of recent lawsuit announcements from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission caught my eye – and they provide some lessons for employers who are facing an aging workforce.

Continue Reading Code Words for Age Discrimination?

Many moons ago, when the ink was barely dry on my law school degree, I assisted a company with a compliance review by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. (In case you’re not familiar with the OFCCP, they enforce the affirmative action requirements for companies with federal contract and subcontracts). The company had engaged in some conversations with the OFCCP before they decided to call counsel (NEVER a good idea in a government investigation). And one of the warehouse managers made *that* comment to the OFCCP investigator. (Yikes!)

Continue Reading “I just didn’t see women working in the warehouse…”

As has been widely reported, including in our February E-Update, the National Labor Relations Board recently asserted that severance agreements may not contain general non-disparagement or confidentiality/non-disclosure clauses, based on its premise that such clauses violate the rights of employees under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act to engage in concerted activity for their mutual aid or protection (i.e. “protected concerted activity”). This ruling was troubling for unionized and non-union employers alike. General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has now issued a memo expressing her views regarding the practical impact of this ruling.

Continue Reading NLRB General Counsel Provides (Some) Clarification on Severance Agreement Non-Disparagement and Confidentiality Provisions

In repurposing an always-popular topic (and, as we have done with last year’s March Madness tournament) we offer employers some guidance on March Madness at work, this time with some improvements and updates on gambling and productivity, and a brand new drug and alcohol section. 

Continue Reading A Revised Updated Employer’s Guide to March Madness

When I was first practicing law, I quickly learned that the answer to many legal questions under National Labor Relations Act depends on which Board’s decision you pick. If the Board has a majority of Members (the name for those people who issue decisions) appointed by a Republican President, I was likely to find an answer that would please my management clients (and the partner who asked me to do the research). By contrast, if the Board’s majority was comprised of appointees named by a Democrat President, the outcome would vex my clients. In other words, the “rules of the game” shift with administrations.

Continue Reading Say What? NLRB Rules Employees May Tape Record Others in Violation of State Law.

On February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, clarifying that, in order to qualify for the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption from the Fair Labor Standard Act’s overtime mandate, the employee must be paid on a salary basis, and the payment of a daily rate does not constitute a salary.

Continue Reading Supreme Court Provides Clarification on the Highly Compensated Employee Exemption’s Salary Requirement

There have been a couple of interesting situations in the news recently involving employees who have been ordered by a court to repay wages to their employers. One involved a Canadian employee who submitted fraudulent timesheets. Another involves law firm associates who failed to meet their billable hours requirement. And a third involves police officers in a New York town who swiped time clocks for each other to falsely claim time worked. These cases provide some insights for employers – good and bad.

Continue Reading Can You Force Employees to Repay Wages?