On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) expanding workplace protections for pregnant and nursing employees.
Potential NFL Running Back Union? Lessons To Be Learned from Derrick Henry And Other Top RBs As They Discuss Feeling Devalued In Their Positions
Celebrating Growth and Expertise: FordHarrison Introduces a Stellar Team of Eight New Attorneys
FordHarrison LLP, one of the country’s largest management-side labor and employment law firms, is pleased to announce that the firm recently added eight associates to offices throughout the U.S. including Atlanta, Berkeley Heights, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, St. Louis, and Tampa.
Davis Bacon Regulations Undergo First Comprehensive Overhaul in 40 Years
On August 8, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule overhauling the Davis Bacon Act (DBA) regulations governing the prevailing wages for construction workers performing work on federal contracts.
The Board’s Latest Decision Serves as a Reminder – The Devil is in the Details
On Wednesday, August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued its long-awaited decision in Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023) wherein it adopted a new legal framework for assessing whether workplace rules violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).
Weapons and the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know about Florida’s New Constitutional Carry Law
For years, a number of Florida’s elected officials have had their sights set on eliminating the statutory requirement that Florida residents obtain a concealed weapons license (“CWL”) to lawfully carry a concealed weapon.
New Jersey Issues New Proposed Regulations on the Temporary Workers Bill of Rights for Comment
On July 21, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development posted on its website proposed regulations to implement the New Jersey Temporary Workers Bill of Rights. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until October 20, 2023.
Whistleblower Implications of Titanic Proportions
While the world held its collective breath last month as search teams desperately looked for a missing submersible carrying five Titanic tourists, news reports began circulating of a former OceanGate director of marine operations who was allegedly fired for raising safety concerns years earlier regarding that same vessel. Sadly,
Shaking the Foundations of DEI? The Impact of the Students for Fair Admissions Decision on Corporate Diversity Initiatives
On June 23, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 20-year precedent in two lawsuits: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina (SFFA v. Harvard/UNC). These lawsuits challenged race-based admission policies. Justice Roberts, authoring the majority opinion, insisted that race cannot be a deciding factor in university admissions, but did not exclude considering an applicant’s racial experiences if tied to unique character traits or abilities. He emphasized that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause applies to everyone, irrespective of race, color, or nationality. Justice Roberts critiqued the affirmative action programs for their lack of clear objectives, negative racial implications, and racial stereotyping, concluding, “We have never allowed admissions programs to function this way, and we won’t begin today.”
“4 Strategies To Counter Antisemitism In The Workplace,” Law360
Hartford attorney Johanna Zelman and Dallas attorney Rachel Ullrich contributed the Expert Analysis piece, “4 Strategies To Counter Antisemitism In The Workplace,” to Law360. The article provides statistics on the rampant increase in antisemitism over the last decade, both in the workplace and in public. In addition, it provides for strategies employers can take to combat antisemitism in the workplace.
Texas Federal Court Stiffs Restaurant Industry on Efforts to Strike Down Department of Labor Regulation on Tip Credit Work
Executive Summary: On July 6, 2023, a federal district court upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) regulations on the type and amount of work that tipped employees may perform while being paid the reduced minimum wage under the tip credit provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The tip credit provisions in the FLSA permit an employer to apply a tip credit and pay a subminimum wage of $2.13 if the tips to the employee are sufficient to result in the employee earning the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Judge Robert Pitman in the Western District of Texas granted the defendant DOL’s motion for summary judgment in the case brought by the Restaurant Law Center and Texas Restaurant Association and denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and motion for summary judgment seeking to invalidate the regulations limiting the type and amount of work that can be performed in a tipped occupation for which the lower minimum wage is paid. See Restaurant Law Center v. United States Department of Labor, Case 1:21-cv-01106-RP (July 6, 2023).
EntertainHR: Olympian Tori Bowie’s Pregnancy-Related Death and the Pervasiveness of Implicit Bias
American track and field champion Tori Bowie recently died suddenly from complications related to childbirth. The three-time Olympian, who was once known as one of the fastest women in the world, hadn’t been seen for several days when the local police department sent deputies to her Florida home as
“After the Addiction, Opioid Users Struggle to Get Back to Work,” Bloomberg Law
Nashville attorney Fred Bissinger was quoted in the Bloomberg Law article, “After the Addiction, Opioid Users Struggle to Get Back to Work.” The article provides awareness on the current landscape of opioid addiction recovery in the workplace and what employers need to do in order to prevent potential legal risks in the future.
Navigating the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in 303 Creative LLC and its Implications on First Amendment Rights in the Workplace
Executive Summary: On June 30, 2023, the U. S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. At issue in the case was a pre-enforcement challenge to Colorado’s public accommodation law, which prohibits businesses from engaging in discrimination when selling goods and services, and whether the law violates a graphic designer’s First Amendment protections by requiring her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. The Court’s majority held that by creating wedding websites, rather than merely selling a simple good or service, the graphic designer is engaging in “pure speech,” and thus compliance with Colorado’s law requiring her to create wedding websites for same-sex marriages, which she professed to have a religious objection to, would violate her free speech rights under the First Amendment.
Supreme Court Paves the Way for more Religious Accommodations in the Workplace
Executive Summary: On June 29, 2023, the U.S Supreme Court issued a decision that broadens protections for workers seeking religious accommodations in the workplace. In Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U. S. ____ (2023), a unanimous decision, the Court rejected the “de minimis” test that has long been used to determine whether a requested accommodation would create an undue hardship on the employer and held that undue hardship now will be analyzed by evaluating whether granting the accommodation would result in “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.”