The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Texas employers) has determined that the COVID-19 pandemic is not considered a natural disaster, thus it is not an exception to the federal law that...
Employment Law Letter
Employment-based immigration programs have become increasingly prevalent as labor shortages continue to plague employers throughout the United States. Employers who are dependent on such programs have been provided...
Q As a small employer, can we offer employees a flexible spending account (FSA) if we don’t offer a medical plan? A Unfortunately, you cannot. In fact, no employer can offer an FSA without offering a medical plan. The...
Q A pregnant employee has applied for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave but has only been employed with our company for about five months, so she doesn’t meet the one-year, 1,250-hours-worked criteria. Are we...
Q We have an employee who has been out on workers’ compensation for over a year now. Because he hasn’t worked for so long, is he still eligible to participate in our group benefits plan? A Unless there’s a collective...
Q Although we can’t force Medicare-eligible employees to leave our group health plan, can we offer education programs to let them know their options and the benefits? A You can offer education programs to Medicare...
Litigation is hard, complicated, and always surprising. It can be very difficult for an organization to plan for the business issues that litigation brings. But no matter how many times you have dealt with litigation...
In the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, many companies have announced plans to assist employees in accessing abortion services, including providing...
Worker’s compensation serves as the “exclusive remedy” for employees claiming benefits arising out of a work injury. Therefore, they are barred from suing their employers under more lucrative “tort” theories for injuries...
Voluntary arbitration agreements involving federal law are enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Section 1 of the FAA exempts certain classes of workers, however, from the enforcement of arbitration. The U.S...
When it began in 1996, the E-Verify program initially was available in only five states. Currently, more than 520,000 employers nationwide use the program, with almost 44,000 of those being federal contractors. Because E...
On Friday, June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey. In doing so, the Court...
Earlier this year, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law amendments to the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Act, which permit additional paid leave opportunities for new parents. The PFML amendments...
In a recent case before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, a retired employee alleged he was subjected to illegal racial harassment. In support, he didn’t claim the alleged harasser used...
Conducting investigations of disputed workplace events is a routine responsibility for HR leaders. Faced with disputed facts, employers can make reasonable fact determinations based on a diligent probe and still obtain...