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The Employer Handbook BlogThe EEOC Wants to Kill the EEO-1. Here’s What Employers Should Do in the Meantime.
The EEO-1 filing requirement has existed since 1966. It may not exist much longer. Continue reading
The DOL Just Made It Official: The 2024 Overtime Rule Is Gone and the $684 Threshold Is Back.
The 2024 overtime rule is officially gone from the federal rulebook. Courts killed it a year and a half ago; the DOL just got around to the paperwork.
A “Repugnant and Racially Hostile” Blackface Doll Hung by a Noose At Work. It Still Wasn’t Enough for a Hostile Work Environment Claim.
The court called it “repugnant and racially hostile.” It still wasn’t enough. A recent appellate decision affirming summary judgment for the employer on a hostile work environment claim is a useful reminder of how high the severe-or-pervasive bar actually is.
One DEI Training Wasn’t Enough to Create a Hostile Work Environment. Four Complaints Weren’t Enough Either.
The bar for a hostile work environment claim is “extremely high.” A White correctional officer just found out how high.
Two Pilots Abused Sick Leave While Serving in the Military. USERRA Didn’t Save Them.
One pilot called in sick with the flu and went skiing. He also called in with a knee injury and flew military jets the same day. The other pilot claimed he was too sick to fly and then flew jets for the military instead. The Eleventh Circuit says the airline was right to push them both out.
New Jersey’s Independent Contractor Rules Are Now Official — And the Burden Is All Yours
Fail any one of the three prongs of New Jersey’s ABC test, and the worker is your employee. The Department of Labor adopted new independent contractor rules on May 5, making that standard official in binding regulation, and employers have until October 1 to get their contractor relationships in order.
What Happens When an Employee Frames a Workplace Grievance as Religious Expression?
A school district police officer posted a prayer on Facebook criticizing his supervisors. He was fired. His lawsuit raised constitutional claims, a retaliation claim, and a religious discrimination claim. The Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal on all of them, and the reasons why are a useful lesson for any employer.
If Prayer Isn’t Enough to Support a Religious Exemption Request, What Is?
When does a religious exemption request stop being religious? A federal appeals court just answered that question in a way that eight of its own judges found alarming.
Before You Fire Someone for FMLA Paperwork Problems, Make Sure Your System Worked
A 19-year employee couldn’t reach his FMLA administrator. The phone system hung up on callers at 5 p.m. An HR rep told him not to worry. Then he was fired for dishonest FMLA reporting.
HR Said She Was Just There for the Maternity Benefits. See You in Court.
A warehouse worker started her job seven months pregnant. Thirteen weeks after delivering, she was fired. One sentence from the HR rep is why this case is going to trial.