Workplace violence is an issue that impacts employees and employers alike. While OSHA uses the General Duty Clause to address such issues, some states are enacting their own laws about it. As we reported a few weeks ago, Texas
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11th Circuit Puts to Sleep Florida Anti-Woke Law Prohibiting Certain Workplace Training
You may recall that in 2021 the State of Florida, in a much-publicized move, passed a law called the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” which banned Florida employers from mandating employee attendance to any training or instruction that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates,…
The EEOC’s Plan to Root Out Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace
Remember last year when we repeatedly posted about the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act (PWFA) and the PUMP Act telling you that the EEOC was going to have pregnancy discrimination on its radar? Recent activity from the EEOC suggests we…
The False Claims Act in 2023: A Government Enforcement Update
Individual employees helped the government secure another successful year in False Claims Act (FCA) litigation, as both plaintiffs (whistleblowers) and individual defendants. Individual whistleblowers were responsible for a substantial percentage of 2023 suits, helping the government enforce FCA provisions against…
Curse Words and Customer Service: Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Tourette Syndrome ADA Claim
If an individual’s disability causes involuntary racist or profane utterances, what would a reasonable accommodation under the ADA look like? In Cooper v. Dolgencorp, LLC, the Sixth Circuit faced just such an inquiry.
ADA Primer
The ADA protects a…
How Quickly Can the NLRB Get You? The Supreme Court to Decide in Starbucks Appeal
As we have been blogging during the Biden presidency, the National Labor Relations Board has become quite aggressive these days. The aggression toward employers has been shown in the types of conduct the Board finds to be unlawful (like simply…
Don’t Mess with Texas Nurses: Texas Healthcare Facilities Must Adopt Workplace Violence Prevention Plans by September 1, 2024
Texas has now joined states like California in creating statutory protections against workplace violence against healthcare workers. Senate Bill 240, now Chapter 331 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, requires healthcare facilities in Texas to address, prevent, and…
This Ain’t My Home, Now Pay Up: 11th Circuit Reverses on FLSA’s Live-In Service Worker Exemption
Someone who works in the home of their employer as a nanny or in another domestic service role is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage requirements, right? Not according to Blanco v. Samuel, a recent 11th…
New Boss Is Definitely Not the Same as the Old Boss: 7th Circuit Allows Age Discrimination Claim to Go Forward
Changes in supervision may result in fresh ways of doing things. Certain rules that were never fully enforced may now come to the forefront. Can a new supervisor’s radical change in a long-term employee’s performance rating be the basis for a claim…
“Tester” Results Are In! Supreme Court Ruling on ADA Accessibility Testers Proves Disappointing, But Not Useless
Nearly a year ago, we reported that the United States Supreme Court was planning to hear a case—Acheson Hotels v. Laufer—on whether “tester” plaintiffs in ADA accessibility cases have standing to sue, including in the increasingly popular website accessibility cases.…