On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its 40-year-old decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which had lawyers buzzing and many others wondering what the big deal with Chevron is anyway. I’ll explain. What is Chevron? In Chevron, the Supreme Court had to decide whether the Clean Air Act […]
On Wednesday, an administrative law judge issued a cease and desist order forcing an employer to rescind overly broad nondisparagement and confidentiality language from its severance agreement and notify all former employees who signed them. This could have been avoided. In this case, the nondisparagement provision stated that it was […]
An employee in his early sixties worked under several managers, one of whom referred to the employee as “my b***h,” “motherf****r,” “old fart,” and “old motherf****r.” Upon seeking a raise, another manager told him that he was making too much money already and that “knowledge [did] not matter.” The employee […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently sued an employer who told an employee to leave on her first day of work shortly after she requested reasonable accommodations for her visual impairments and later fired her the same day after the employee’s advocate offered to pay for accommodations. Here’s more […]
Federal circuit courts are split over whether former employees may sue their employers under the ADA for discrimination in the provisions of post-employment benefits. Two say they can; four say they can’t. Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to resolve the matter. It will do so at the request of a […]
The Federal Trade Commission isn’t the only government agency gunning for your company’s noncompetes. Earlier this month, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge ruled that a non-union employer violated the National Labor Relations Act by utilizing unlawful noncompete and nonsolicitation provisions in employment agreements. During their employment and […]
The hostess at an Asian-American restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, was employed in that role for about two years. Two years the restaurant probably wishes it could have back. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the owners and general manager observed that the hostess was impatient with guests, gave […]
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to review and establish the burden of proof that employers must satisfy to demonstrate the applicability of an overtime exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Both the petitioning employer and the United States agree that employers must demonstrate that an FLSA exemption applies […]
On Friday, a federal judge in Arkansas dismissed a lawsuit that 17 states had filed challenging aspects of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) — specifically the part that deals with “elective abortions.” Yesterday, another federal judge in Louisiana enjoined the EEOC from requiring employers in Louisiana […]
On Friday, a federal judge in Arkansas dismissed a lawsuit that 17 states had filed challenging aspects of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission‘s final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) — specifically the part that deals with “elective abortions.” The PWFA requires most employers with 15 or more […]
I disappeared down a few Google rabbit holes in my attempt to find the right coffee pun to introduce yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in which eight out of nine justices agreed to recalibrate the test for when the National Labor Relations Board seeks an injunction in federal court to curtail […]
This week, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Representatives Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-12) reintroduced the Restoring Justice for Workers Act, which Ms. Murray describes as legislation to end forced arbitration clauses and protect workers’ ability to pursue work-related claims in court. If successful, the […]
TL;DR: Yes. But I’ll explain to you why it’s probably not illegal. First, here’s what happened. According to multiple published reports, including this one from Michaela Althouse at the Philly Voice, a chain of three coffee shops permanently closed Monday – one week after employees announced their intentions to unionize. […]
Last month, I explained how easy it is for an employee to plead a discrimination claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Yet, last night, I read an opinion in which the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had to correct not one but two judges on the pleadings standards. […]
Employers cannot interfere with employee rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act. However, the FMLA doesn’t exonerate employee misconduct, including when an employer discovers it during the leave. I’ll give you an example from a federal court decision I read last night. The plaintiff needed knee replacement surgery and informed […]
This one is a bit of a total stretch. It’s about an employment law-adjacent lawsuit. The owner of a limited liability company filed suit under 42 U.S.C. §1981, claiming that another company discriminated on account of race by evicting the LLC for failure to pay rent. The district court dismissed […]
