Can an employee be terminated for going on vacation when taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act? Maybe not. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found that an employee could not terminated for going on vacation when taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In that case, the plaintiff, […]
The Dallas Paid Sick Leave ordinance took effect August 1, 2019, requiring employers to provide workers with six to eight paid sick days a year, depending on employer size. Businesses in north Texas, however, filed a lawsuit two days before the effective date asking a federal judge to halt the new law. The law requires […]
This week, we discuss an example of a recent, and growing, trend where state governments are getting involved in how employers utilize non-compete agreements. Recently, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and the state of Washington have passed regulations that restrict employers’ abilities use non-compete agreements. Most recently, on June 28, 2019, the state of Maine […]
According to some reports, in 2018, the US economy included up to 53 million “gig” workers.[1] Of those 53 million, the report estimates that 10.1 million were assigned as temporary workers by staffing firms, and 7.9 million were “human cloud workers,” which may be better described as workers utilizing online digital platforms to obtain business […]
Within the past three weeks, both California and New York have passed laws prohibiting employers from discriminating based upon hairstyle. Governor Newsom signed California’s “CROWN Act” (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) on July 3, 2019, making California the first state to ban discrimination against natural hair, including afros, braids, twists, and […]
Attorney Blog, Human Resources
Appeals Court Finds Employer Can Revoke Reasonable Accommodation Under ADA Post-Merger
This week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin), ruled that Dallas based American Airlines could rescind a reasonable accommodation that included a “Work from Home Arrangement” for an employee with multiple sclerosis based on a the Company’s determination that the essential job functions of her position changed following […]
Attorney Blog, Human Resources
Supreme Court Expands FOIA Confidentiality Protections for Private Companies
In Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, the U.S. Supreme Court held that government agencies can withhold a private company’s records from public disclosure under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) if the company has treated the information as confidential and also received promises from the government agency to maintain the information’s confidentiality. […]
Businesses with at least 100 employees and federal contractors with at least 50 employees and a contract of $50,000 or more with the federal government must annually file their EEO-1 report with the EEOC. The EEO-1 form was revised during President Barack Obama’s administration to require employers to report pay information from workers’ W-2 forms […]
On Monday, June 10, 2019, Governor Greg Abbott signed a new law that officially separates marijuana and cannabidiol, or CBD products, in the State of Texas. While CBD products have been available in Texas for some time, those products that contained even trace amounts of THC were technically illegal. Now, as long as a CBD […]
Attorney Blog, Human Resources
Dallas and San Antonio’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinances Take Effect August 1, 2019
Following in Austin’s footsteps, the cities of Dallas and San Antonio have implemented paid sick leave ordinances. During its regular session, the Texas Legislature failed to pass a law preempting the type of paid sick leave ordinances set to go into effect. The city of Austin, Texas enacted its paid sick leave ordinance as of October 1, […]