On August 29, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) reversed Trump-era case law and significantly limited when employers may restrict union insignia on clothing in the workplace.
The case, Tesla, Inc. 370 NLRB No. 131 (2022), arose after Tesla prohibited employees at a manufacturing facility from wearing clothing bearing union insignia during a union
On June 2, 2022, the Second Circuit held that individuals could sue their employers for gender discrimination under Title IX, resolving a prior split of authority among the lower courts. The lawsuit was brought against Cornell University by a male faculty member claiming that Cornell discriminated against him in violation of Title IX, Title VI,
On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an emergency temporary standard (ETS) that sets COVID-19 vaccination and safety standards for private employers with 100 or more employees. The ETS creates new obligations for employers, new rights for employees, and generally requires compliance within thirty days. Here are ten key
This week marked a turning point in the COVID-19 Pandemic: the arrival of the first vaccines. Now that the vaccines are finally coming (through much of 2021), employers have many questions to ask themselves and will have many questions to answer from employees. On Wednesday, December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission started to
In recent years male students who were removed from school following a Title IX investigation have sued, claiming that the school’s investigation was unfair and biased against them as males. As we discussed in a recent post, these claims have seen some success in the courts. Similar arguments are now being made by employees
Most of the promises contained in a union contract expire on the same date the contract expires, subject of course to the obligation to negotiate before making any unilateral changes to the status quo. But in some cases, the benefits in a contract can become “vested” so they cannot be taken away even after the
On May 28, 2019, the New York City Council held a public hearing regarding proposed amendments to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”) which would require employers to provide eligible employees with “personal time.” The bill also would provide more protections for employees, including protections against retaliation and the addition of monetary penalties for employer violations.
Continue Reading New York City Council Considers Paid Personal Time
The Connecticut Appellate Court ruled this week that an employee’s request for extended intermittent leave is not a “reasonable” accommodation under the state’s anti-discrimination laws. You can download Barbabosa v. Board of Education here.
The decision provides some much needed guidance to an area that has been increasingly litigated — namely whether a medical leave, above and beyond FMLA leave, is required as a reasonable accommodation.
The background on the case is fairly straightforward and might be familiar to some who have dealt with employees.
Continue Reading If Attendance is Mandatory For Job, Is Intermittent Leave Ever a “Reasonable” Accommodation?
Medical marijuana is once more in the news after a man was denied a position as a firefighter in Bridgeport allegedly due to his status as a medical marijuana user. The plaintiff in Bulerin v. Bridgeport, Superior Court, Judicial District of Bridgeport, Docket No. FBT-CV-19-6083042-S, alleges that the City violated Connecticut’s Palliative use of
When Chastity Jones, a black woman from Alabama, lost a job offer because she refused to cut her natural locs, she turned to the federal courts. The company told Ms. Jones that her natural hairstyle violated the company’s grooming policy because locs “tend to get messy.” In response, Jones sought the assistance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) which brought a Title VII claim against the company
Continue Reading Hairstyle Biases: What Employers Should Know About Hair and Race Discrimination