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January 8, 2022
Employers should take ADA requests seriously and review them on a case-by-case basis
A health system that required an employee to take a flu vaccine as a condition of continued employment did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act despite the worker suffering a bad vaccine reaction, according to a federal appeals court ruling in December. Jasmine Norman sued her employer, NYU Langone Health System, for failing to […]
January 2, 2022
Employers in 2022 need to refresh and re-engage
As we approach two years into a pandemic, the new year is starting with the same feeling of exhaustion and malaise as it did at the beginning of 2021. Many employers, now on their third or fourth iteration of return-to-office plans, are once again re-thinking an extension of remote work as the fast-spreading omicron variant […]
December 28, 2021
Don’t let employees slip away during the Great Resignation. Take action now
Much has been written in 2021 about what some call the “Great Resignation,” which predicted that employees would leave organizations amid weary dissatisfaction with their workplace. At first I thought this was simply hyperbole. And then Alex happened. Alex (not his real name) is a personal trainer who worked at a local club for 19 […]
December 19, 2021
Guidelines for gift giving, parties and holiday pay
As workplaces enter the final week before Christmas, there will be gift exchanges between employees and clients, final holiday events, and holiday pay considerations. We all deserve and need a time of celebration with our co-workers — it has been another tough year. But we should keep in mind that our diverse workplaces are filled […]
December 14, 2021
A real life Scrooge: CEO lays off 900 employees on a Zoom call. Employers can learn from his missteps
Layoffs happen. They are difficult, gut-wrenching, and troubling for all involved, but sometimes organizations have no other option. When conducting a layoff, there are certain norms that organizations follow to account for the emotional toll that layoffs take on employees. But that wasn’t the case for online startup mortgage lender Better.com CEO Vishal Garg, who announced […]
December 5, 2021
Biden Administration’s vaccine mandates largely halted for now; companies taking a wait-and-see approach
The three different mandates from the federal government requiring COVID vaccinations for employees are in flux with legal challenges. Most private companies are now taking a wait-and-see approach about implementing the federal mandates, one of which requires businesses with 100 or more workers to have workers get a COVID vaccination by Jan. 4 or submit […]
November 27, 2021
Tesla factory employee alleges ‘rampant sexual harassment’ in lawsuit
Just a month after Tesla was hit with a $137 million punitive damage verdict for racial harassment, the company now has been accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed in California state court. The lawsuit by a female factory worker describes a culture of sexual comments, groping and extremely troubling behaviors toward women with […]
November 20, 2021
Recent federal wage and hour Investigations should remind employers to get their pay practices in compliance
The U.S. Department of Labor announced earlier this month that it recovered $40,000 in back wages from Richmond-based Alliance Drywall & Paint LLC. The drywall company allegedly failed to pay 63 non-exempt hourly employees time and a half for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek, as required by federal and state law, according […]
November 13, 2021
Navigating the uncertainty over the vaccination rule for private businesses has left employers scrambling
The legal battle over a vaccine rule started almost immediately. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an emergency temporary standard on Nov. 4 requiring employees who work for a private company with 100 or more workers to get a COVID vaccination by Jan. 4 or submit to weekly testing. The lawsuits were filed […]
November 8, 2021
A white man awarded $10 million in damages is a reminder that employers can’t discriminate in the name of diversity
A federal jury in late October awarded David Duvall $10 million in punitive damages for discrimination following his termination as senior vice president for marketing and communications at Novant Health Inc. in North Carolina. Duvall, a white man, alleged that he was terminated to support diversity efforts when he was replaced by two women — […]