Employment Law Letter

Winning the battle, losing the war: 2nd Circuit upholds huge attorneys’ fees

In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (whose rulings apply to all New York employers) upheld the district court’s award of over $570,000 in attorneys’ fees to a law firm that recovered only...

Oct 31, 2022 · Employment Law Letter · New York

NYC releases proposed AI guidance for automated employment decisions

New York City (NYC) employers have been on edge ever since the city enacted legislation requiring a “bias audit” and disclosures if they use artificial intelligence (AI) to make certain automated employment-related...

Oct 31, 2022 · Employment Law Letter · New York

3rd Circuit confirms ABC test applies in wage theft case

In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit (whose rulings apply to all New Jersey employers) confirmed that the ABC Test—long used by the New Jersey Department of Labor—sets forth the proper...

Oct 31, 2022 · 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

NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission rolls out long-awaited guidance

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission has issued long-awaited guidance, but it’s only provisional. The commission has yet to issue standards on the required certification process for the workplace experts who...

Customer isn’t always right: addressing third-party discrimination

In pursuit of customer satisfaction, employers may be inclined to take a hands-off approach when customers or other third parties exhibit discriminatory conduct towards their employees. This can be a costly mistake...

Dish Network disconnects on arbitration agreement

You would think drafting an arbitration agreement should be simple enough. After all, arbitrating employment discrimination claims was court-approved several decades ago. But issues still persist, as we see in this very...

Oct 31, 2022 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

Missing magic contract language aces party out of $1.2 million

Words matter, and they matter a lot. Or as someone remarked (and I’m paraphrasing), “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between a lightning bolt and a lightning bug.” Here’s...

Oct 31, 2022 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

Make your cell phone policies practical for modern workplaces

Q Our company wants to implement a policy to limit personal cell phone usage only to break times. Can we ask workers to put their phones in their work lockers or on their supervisors’ desks? While such a policy may be...

4th Circuit extends ADA protection to transgender individuals

The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina employers) has become the first appellate court in the country to find that gender...

8th Circuit rules rehab program participants aren’t employees

Minimum wage laws broadly define “employ” as “to suffer or permit to work.” Sometimes, however, being permitted to work doesn’t mean someone is an employee. A recent case from the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals...

NLRB telegraphs possible new standard for employee email use

On September 30, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reversed its earlier stance that an employee who used company email for union organizing was lawfully terminated. The decision indicates a possible change...

Speak now or forever hold your peace: NLRB proposes new joint employer rules

Over the last decade, there has been a significant amount of litigation over how to determine if multiple companies are joint employers of a workforce. Joint employer status can create significant liability issues for...

What employers should know about remote work if they employ foreign nationals

According to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 34 percent of private-sector employers expanded remote-work options for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and about 60 percent of...

Court razes architect’s failure-to-accommodate suit

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently upheld a trial court’s dismissal of an employee’s claim that his employer failed to accommodate his disability, holding that Georgia state law provided him no legal remedy. Facts In...

Be prepared to handle time off requests for religious observance

The holidays are just around the corner, and like every year, employers should start bracing for time-off requests. Many requests may be for religious observation. Employers should be aware and mindful of how they...

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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