Wage and hour claims are both skyrocketing in number and quickly becoming the largest source of employment-related liability. In 2015, employees filed three times as many wage and hour actions as they had just a few years earlier. These claims have cost employers significantly, with the average wage and hour ... Read More »

In Havertown, Pennsylvania, Chipotle recently had some negative publicity and, for once, E. coli was not the culprit. Instead, James Kennedy, a 38-year-old war veteran, was terminated from Chipotle, after criticizing the company on Twitter and for circulating a petition in store regarding scheduled breaks. Kennedy sued, alleging that his ... Read More »

On Wednesday, March 23, 2016, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it finalized its union persuader rule, requiring employers to report so-called “persuader agreements” they have made with outside consultants to help persuade workers against unionizing. As described in our prior post, the rule interprets the Labor ... Read More »

Significant amendments to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) regulations take effect on April 1, 2016. The amendments mandate detailed written policies against harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, update sexual harassment training requirements, and provide new definitions for certain protected characteristics. Mandatory Written Policy Against Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Under ... Read More »

On March 1, 2016, the EEOC announced that it had filed its first two sex discrimination lawsuits based on sexual orientation. One of these cases, filed in the federal district court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, is based on allegations that a gay male employee was subject to anti-gay ... Read More »

A federal appellate court unanimously found that an individual’s difficulty with lifting his right arm above his shoulder, constituted a disability under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which amended the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Cannon v. Jacobs Field Services North America, Inc., Case No. 15-20127 (5th ... Read More »

​When counseling a new client, I normally ask if they have a written drug and alcohol testing policy. If the company is fairly large, it normally has such a policy.  I do, however, occasionally receive a response from smaller companies that they do not have such a policy, and some, ... Read More »

For private-sector employees filing discrimination charges, claims must be made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the incident, although the time can be extended to as many as 300 days if the claim is pursued initially with a state or local agency. Federal employees, however, ... Read More »

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times:  “It’s employment at will in this state.  I can fire my employees for any reason or no reason at all.”  Well, if that “any reason” or “no reason” has something to do with social-media based condemnation of your company, ... Read More »