Reversing itself, the Second Circuit held on Monday, February 26, that sexual orientation discrimination is discrimination “because of . . . sex” under Title VII in Zarda v. Altitude Express. The Second Circuit’s decision aligns it with the Seventh Circuit and places it squarely at odds with the Eleventh
5 Employment Law Predictions for 2018 – Part II
Part I of this post offered predictions related to DOL Opinion Letters and a likely rule increasing the minimum exempt salary level under the FLSA. This Part II offers three more predictions involving legal issues quite different from wage and hour concerns.
Prediction 3: Continuing and Increasing Focus on Harassment
5 Employment Law Predictions for 2018 – Part I
With the holidays now over and everyone settling back into our regular work routines, some predictions on labor and employment law developments for 2018 might be helpful. Overall, federal agencies are expected to continue last year’s trend of taking more employer-friendly positions under the current Administration. In addition to that
Two Bulls in a China Shop: The EEOC and the DOJ
United States executive agencies are practically always on the same page when presenting to the public. So, it is incredibly unusual to see two such agencies taking positions directly contrary to one another in pending litigation. This, however, is exactly the current situation between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ),
Handling An Employee Who Won’t Shake Hands For Religious Reasons
Religious issues in the workplace are challenging both from a legal and practical standpoint. Managers and HR professionals want employees to feel accepted and included, and they don’t want anyone to feel targeted or mistreated based on their religious beliefs or practices. Problems can arise, however, where an employee’s religious practices interfere with the employee’s job or professional interactions. How do you accommodate the employee’s beliefs while also ensuring that the employee meets the job’s requirements?
A New Era of Decreased Enforcement?
Are we moving into an era of less aggressive enforcement by the federal agencies tasked with responsibility over our nation’s labor and employment laws? It certainly seems so given several signals from the current administration and the federal agencies themselves.
Employment Agreements Under the Bright Light of the SEC’s Enforcement Efforts
Back in April 2015, we told you about a new player in the world of employee whistleblower enforcement: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC grabbed everyone’s attention in 2015 by issuing its first administrative order finding that a public company violated SEC rules based solely on language in an employment agreement.
Nationwide Injunction Prohibits Implementation of the Department of Labor’s New Overtime Rules
Summary
A nationwide junction was issued Tuesday evening blocking implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new rules increasing the minimum salary levels required for most white collar exemptions. These new rules had been scheduled to go into effect on December 1, and would have raised the minimum annual salary level for most exemptions from $23,660 to $47,476. The injunction halts enforcement of the rule until the Department of Labor receives a contrary order from the issuing court or an appellate court. But, since Texas is in the Fifth Circuit, which is a traditionally conservative court, the Department of Labor faces an uphill climb and it is unlikely that the new rules will go into effect in the foreseeable future.