Employment Law Letter

On June 13, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released a decision, referred to as Atlanta Opera Inc., that marks a shift in the applicable test for whether a worker qualifies as an independent contractor...

Under the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which took effect on June 27, 2023, employers are now required to provide “reasonable accommodations” to nursing and pregnant employees. Similarly, the Providing Urgent...

On June 15, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 90, which amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to prohibit discrimination based on traits historically associated with race, such as hair...

On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision some have deemed a blow to the right to strike. The 8-1 decision crossed ideological lines, as both conservative and liberal members of the Court either joined...

Red Sox or Yankees? Hamburgers or hot dogs? In the office or work from home? While some debates have been around for many years, the debate over whether employees should be required to be back in the office or be...

Wisconsin businesses should think twice before assuming that hiring independent contractors relieves them of the obligation to pay unemployment insurance taxes. Wisconsin law requires payment unless an employer can prove...

In a unanimous decision on June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified, without overruling, a decision on religious belief accommodations that has guided employers since 1977. According to the Court, what the Equal...

On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision some have deemed a blow to the right to strike. The 8-1 decision crossed ideological lines, as both conservative and liberal members of the Court either joined...

Imagine an employee in a workplace meeting stands up and—in a profanity-laced tirade—calls the manager several names not fit for print. Most employers would immediately discipline, if not fire, the employee for violating...

As we have previously written, the limits that can be placed on employment arbitration agreements has been a back-and-forth battle between the supreme courts of the state of California and the United States of America...

The California Legislature is poised to pass Senate Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 7, called “the Right to Organize and Negotiate Act.” If approved by the voters, SCA 7 would grant all Californians the right to join a...

On July 6, 2023, the California Supreme Court issued its ruling that employers aren’t legally responsible in preventing the spread of COVID-19 to nonemployee household members who contracted the virus as a result of...

As generative artificial intelligence (GAI) technology, such as ChatGPT, finds new and greater uses in the workplace, employers must consider the myriad of legal and other issues that come with it. For good reason...

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the recruiting and hiring process has seen increased popularity in recent years. Many businesses, seeking to lower hiring costs and reduce potential discrimination claims, have...

A former Lyft driver filed suit against the rideshare company under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA), alleging it misclassified him and other drivers as independent contractors rather than employees...