Employment Law Letter

Sexual harassment, emotional distress caused by boss lead to big payday for employee

An attorney with a solo legal practice got what was coming to him when his legal assistant finally sued him after years of relentless and horrific mistreatment. She was awarded almost $200,000 in damages. You’re unlikely...

Dec 31, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Payback time? Promoted employee fails to obtain required license

Q Thirty months ago, we promoted an individual to a position that requires a special license and included a pay raise. He has repeatedly failed to get his license and, as a result, has never been able to perform the job...

Outgoing Baltimore mayor vetoes 2 bills intended to protect hospitality workers

We recently alerted you about two bills passed by the Baltimore City Council that would have made doing business for certain employers in the city more difficult (see “Baltimore City Council approves 2 bills protecting...

Earned paid leave on the horizon for Maine employers

Beginning January 1, 2021, most Maine employers must offer at least 40 hours of earned paid leave (EPL) to their employees. Although this may sound simple, you should be careful to read the fine print—there are some...

Using Zoom improperly can destroy trade secret protections

With many employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, employers have depended on Zoom or other web-based video conferencing tools to conduct meetings online. Users can choose to record sessions, collaborate...

2020: a look back and a look forward

Several weeks ago, Tony Kessler, senior content manager at BLR, sent an e-mail asking for perspectives on the year 2020. His note prompted this article. 2020 has been a year of many challenges, among which has been...

Dec 31, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · California · New York · Texas · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

How the Latino vote affected the 2020 election

For months, news outlets predicted not only that President Donald Trump would lose the 2020 presidential election but also that Democrats would dominate most of the other political races. After election night, it was...

Dec 31, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

Promoting workplace diversity: What's legal and what works

Motivated by a summer of protests as well as a recognition of inequality in their ranks, a number of high-profile corporations recently committed to make their workforces—especially their leadership—more diverse. But...

As retaliation claims rise, employers need to be on guard

A recent report from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) includes a startling statistic about how often employees say they experience retaliation after reporting instances of sexual harassment. The organization found...

Small packages, big ideas: 5th Circuit offers insights on accommodations, termination

Sometimes a short, simple employment law case packs the most educational wallop. That was the situation recently with a ruling from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Texas employers). The case...

Dec 31, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

Midland employee’s slam-dunk race bias, retaliation case stalls out

Sometimes a case seems like a surefire winner for the employee, but it turns out not to be one. That’s why understanding the ins and outs of employment law is crucial. (By the way, the same principle holds true when...

Dec 31, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

Five keys to effective EEOC responses

Receiving a discrimination charge from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) can be unnerving, but here are five keys for employers to make the process go more smoothly and successfully. Key #1: Reserve your...

Dec 31, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

Employers weighing whether to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations

A limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine will become available before the end of 2020. While that is good news for those of us who look forward to returning to our favorite prepandemic activities, it presents difficult...

Dec 20, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Dealing with hostile work environment claims in a work-from-home world

An October 2020 Forbes.com article on harassment in the work-from- home world identified eight "red flag" signs of misconduct. "Just like the working environment has changed to a home-based environment, so has workplace...

Be on guard as retaliation claims rise

Dec 20, 2020 · Employment Law Letter · California

Arkansas Stephen W. Jones of Jack Nelson Jones, PLLC, and Audra Hamilton and Nathan Read of Mitchell Williams
Kansas Boyd A. Byers, Teresa L. Shulda, and Tara Eberline of Foulston Siefkin LLP
Missouri Robert A. Kaiser, Jeremy Brenner, and Ida S. Shafaie of Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Oklahoma Charles S. Plumb, Courtney Bru, Paul Ross, Philip Bruce, and Jacob Crawford of McAfee & Taft

Delaware Lauren Russell of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
Maryland Steven E. Bers and David M. Stevens of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, L.L.P.
New Jersey John C. Petrella and Dina M. Mastellone of Genova Burns LLC
Pennsylvania Dena Calo, Lisa Koblin, Carolyn Pellegrini, and Zachary Kimmel of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Virginia Jonathan Mook and Bernard J. DiMuro of DiMuroGinsberg PC

Illinois Steven L. Brenneman and Kelly Smith-Haley of Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll, LLP
Indiana Brian R. Garrison of Faegre Drinker
Michigan Gary S. Fealk and John T. Below of Bodman PLC
Ohio Fred G. Pressley, Jr., Jourdan D. Day, and John M. Stephen of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
Wisconsin Saul Glazer, Troy D. Thompson, Michael J. Westcott, Leslie A. Sammon, and Heath Straka of Axley Brynelson LLP

Kentucky Richard S. Cleary, John T. Lovett, Robert D. Hudson, and Kathleen Biggs Wright of Frost Brown Todd LLC
North Carolina Richard L. Rainey of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
South Carolina Richard J. Morgan, James K. Gilliam, Jonathan C. Eggert, and Chandler E. Aragona of Burr & Forman LLP
Tennessee Kara E. Shea and David Johnson of Butler Snow LLP
West Virginia Larry J. Rector and Allison B. Williams of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Alabama Albert L. Vreeland and David J. Middlebrooks of Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C.
Florida G. Thomas Harper of The Law and Mediation Offices of G. Thomas Harper, LLC, Lisa Berg and Andrew Rodman of Stearns Weaver Miller, and Robert J. Sniffen and Jeff Slanker of Sniffen & Spellman, P.A.
Georgia Raanon Gal of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Glianny Fagundo of Thompson Hine LLP and Chris Butler of the Chris Butler Firm
Louisiana H. Mark Adams and Jennifer Kogos of Jones Walker LLP
Mississippi Martin J. Regimbal of The Kullman Firm

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