For the first time in many years, there seems to be momentum in Washington D.C. for the adoption of a national paid sick leave policy.  Currently, nine states and at least 10 localities have paid sick leave laws.  Paid sick leave is common throughout Europe, in many South American countries, and even in China.  The

Perhaps before the year-end holidays kicked in, you might have noticed that on Friday, December 14, 2018, a Texas judge struck down the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) as unconstitutional in its entirety.  The judge held that since 2017’s tax bill effectively eliminated the penalty for violations of the ACA’s individual mandate that required most Americans

With the continued rise of the #MeToo movement, New York has taken the reins as one of the leaders in combating sexual harassment in the workplace.  All employers who have employees located in New York state must now provide sexual harassment training to all employees at least once a year.  New York joins California, Connecticut,

A recent ruling by the California Supreme Court could have lasting consequences for timekeeping practices and the payment of wages for hourly employees. In the case of Troester v. Starbucks Corp., the court ruled on July 26, 2018 that Starbucks had to pay the plaintiff for time spent on regular, off-the-clock tasks. The court

On May 21, 2018, a divided U.S. Supreme Court held that employers can force employees into individual arbitration and avoid class action lawsuits involving those same employees.

By way of background, in 1925, Congress passed the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), which validated arbitration clauses.  In 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), which

Many employers require employees and applicants to take personality testing (think Myers-Briggs). Others are seriously considering adding this as a component of their hiring and employee engagement efforts. Companies want to get a sense of an individual’s opinions, attitudes, feelings, motivations, preferences, interests, emotional makeup, and style of interacting with others. This information, some believe,

In today’s internet-driven world, employers have never had more options from which to recruit new hires. Sites like Zip Recruiter, Monster.com, and Career Builder specialize in talent acquisition, serving as stand-alone classified pages of sorts. Employers also can utilize ever-present social media channels, like Facebook and LinkedIn, to find the best candidate for a position.

Last month The New Yorker published a story detailing years of claimed sexual harassment and misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Since then, it seems that every day features new allegations of similarly inappropriate behavior by public figures, from actors, to authors, to public radio executives. It is unclear whether this is a long- or

Last month, the Trump Administration announced plans to end President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program. This change in policy is sure to have a significant impact on employers.

First, a little background on DACA. Beginning in the 1990s, illegal immigration from Central and South America changed. Illegal immigrants used to consist of

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals became the first Federal Appellate Court to hold that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.  While some states have already enacted laws protecting against that type of discrimination, and many employers have added such protections into company equal employment opportunity policies, this marks the first time sexual orientation has been deemed protected at this level under the federal Civil Rights Act.
Continue Reading What Does The Landmark Ruling Declaring Sexual Orientation Discrimination Illegal Under Title VII Really Mean?