A sign of things to come: Fifth Circuit expands scope of employment practices protected by Title VII
8/24/23
By: Robert Chadwick
On Friday, August 18, 2023, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed nearly three decades of precedent as to the reach of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act …
Don’t lose your right to arbitrate – separate provisions can permeate
8/9/23
By: Lynn Hollenbeck
Employers, beware. The Arbitration Agreement you have your employees sign may be rock solid, but an unconscionable provision in another onboarding document can permeate and vitiate it. In a case decided in April 2023 by the Second …
Georgia Court of Appeals Rules Employee Non-Solicitation Provision Must Have Geographical Limitation
7/6/23
By: Bradley T. Adler and Zachary W. Jarvis
While the future enforceability of non-compete provisions (and some other post-employment restrictive covenants) may be uncertain due to the recent efforts of the Federal Trade Commission, National Labor Relations Board and state …
6/29/23
By: Christopher J. Fleissner and Daniel Parker Jett
The Ninth Circuit recently ruled that an employer’s conduct can discriminate based on sex even if that conduct equally offends both men and women, and even if it does not target any …
Running a background check? – Don’t run from these disclosures
6/28/23
By: Mandy D. Hexom and Thomas Livingston
Background checks are standard procedure for many employers as part of the employee application or onboarding process. It seems obvious that the applicant or employee knows they are consenting to a background check, …
Georgia Laws Regarding Employee Time Off and Leave Get An Update
5/25/23
By: Joyce Mocek
Georgia Laws Regarding Employee Time Off and Leave Get An Update
Effective July 1, 2023, Georgia employees will now be able to take up to 2 hours of unpaid time off to vote in-person in primaries and …
For the Record: Best Practices for Maintaining Personnel Records and Employee Files
5/24/23
By: Janet Barringer and Ryan Giggi
Our increasingly digitized world has changed the way employers manage and keep records. Personnel files are very frequently at the center of employment litigation, as a well-kept personnel file will tell the story of …
3/20/23
By: Tia Combs and Allison Spears
In Hudson v. Lincare, Inc., the Fifth Circuit provided employers with a roadmap for the proper response to claims of co-worker harassment. As discussed below, the case exemplifies how prompt and deliberate action …
2/1/23
By Steve Forbes and Ashley Hetzel
A partner at a prominent employment law firm in Ohio fired off a scathing text message that created some reputational ripples within the legal community. A female associate, who had recently returned from maternity …
1/13/23
By: R. Victoria Fuller and Emily Kowalik
Two new federal laws aimed at increasing protections for pregnant and breastfeeding employees will go into effect in 2023: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing …
The FTC proposes rule banning non-compete agreements
1/12/23
By: Jennifer L. Markowski, R. Victoria Fuller, Christopher J. Redd
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that would prohibit employers from imposing non-compete agreements on their workers, with very limited exceptions. The …
The National Labor Relations Board Expands Available Remedies for Labor Violations
12/19/22
By Robert Chadwick and Caroline Wu
On December 13, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) in Thryv, Inc. significantly expanded the remedies available to employees who allegedly suffer economic losses due to an employer’s alleged unfair labor practice. Traditionally, …