Massachusetts Appeals Court Holds Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Failed to Put Employer on Notice of Claims Tried in Public Hearing
5/18/21
By: Victoria Fuller and Matthew Schwartz
In 15 LaGrange Street Corporation v. MCAD, Civ. A. No. 20-P-726, the Massachusetts Appeals Court partially vacated a judgment entered by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (the “Commission”) against an employer to the …
Eligible Employers Have Until Monday, July 19, 2021 to Submit Their EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collection for the 2019 and 2020 Year
5/12/21
By: Hannah-Kate Gosch
On April 26, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced that it was opening the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection on its recently relaunched data collection website. Eligible employers have until Monday, …
Two Lawsuits Test the Permissibility of Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies in Employment
5/11/21
By: Michael Hirota
As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available within the United States, many employers are grappling with how to incorporate employee vaccination into their return-to-work requirements. Two recent lawsuits in New Mexico and California challenging mandatory vaccination …
At the Intersection of FMLA and Workers Compensation: Ramji v. Hospital Housekeeping Systems, Inc.
5/11/21
By: Tia Combs
The Eleventh Circuit recently weighed in on how the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and state law workers compensation schemes interact in Ramji v. Hospital Housekeeping Systems, LLC, No. 19-13461, 2021 WL 1257247 (11th Cir. April …
PA’s Prevailing Wage Law Shows Its Teeth
5/7/21
By: Joshua Ferguson and Courtney Mazzio
Pennsylvania’s Prevailing Wage Law was enacted in 1961 to protect construction workers from out-of-state competition, mandating those contractors pay the wages that “prevail” in each region on all government construction projects more than $25,000.
Violations of this state labor …
Arbitration – Is it the Happiest Place on Earth?
5/4/21
By: Anna Drake
A recent lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court involves the important topic of dispute resolution and how it can play out in an employment setting. It can be specifically important in terms of employment agreements that include …
Departing Lawyers’ “Theft of Files” May Lead to a Violation of M.G.L.c. 93A
4/29/21
By: Nancy Reimer, Jennifer Markowski and Lori Eller
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently held in Governo Law Firm LLC v. Bergeron, 487 Mass. 188 (2021), that the inapplicability of G. L. c. 93A, § 11, to disputes …
Illinois Puts The Squeeze On Employers
4/19/21
By: Eileen Darroll
Illinois has passed three new laws that expand employee’s rights. These laws will impact the way employers hire and retain employees in substantial ways.
SB 1480 amends the Illinois Human Rights Act making it a violation to …
Handling Telework Requests in a Post-COVID Environment
4/13/21
By: David Chang
As COVID-19 numbers retreat and vaccine distributions increase, many businesses that shifted to a Working From Home (“WFH”) environment are preparing to transition back to the office. This will likely bring increased requests for “reasonable accommodations” under …
Websites Not Considered Places of Public Accommodation under the ADA
4/9/21
By: Joyce Mocek
The Eleventh Circuit recently held that websites of businesses open to the public are not necessarily considered places of public accommodation under Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA prohibits discrimination on the …
EEOC 2020 Data Shows Increased Cost of Resolving Workplace Claims
3/30/21
By: Brenton S. Bean
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission has released its 2020 enforcement statistics. These statistics are important because they show trends in the types of claims being brought by employees, as well as those which the EEOC chooses …
The Third Round Of COVID-19 Relief And How It Could Impact Employers
3/19/21
By: Bill Catto and Brittany Kurtz
While most Americans are checking their bank accounts for a stimulus check, employers should be aware of the extensions and expansions of the latest COVID-19 legislation allowing for additional tax credits for voluntarily providing …