Articles

In the context of the opioid crisis, the US DOJ has issued a Q&A guidance on how the Americans with Disabilities Act may apply to those in treatment for or recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD). The DOJ makes several points of significance to employers. In the guidance, the DOJ […]

Only days after being sworn into office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” On April 14, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released its Equity Action Plan in accordance with that E.O., containing several items of interest or […]

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is targeting so-called “captive audience” meetings and has asked the Board to find such meetings unlawful. Employers often hold these meetings during union organizing campaigns to present their views to assembled employees regarding unionization and other issues relating to employee working […]

Following the U.S. Department of Labor’s prior announcement of its joint anti-retaliation initiative with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board (as discussed in our November 2021 E-Update), the DOL has now released additional resources that it asserts are “to help combat retaliation against employees who […]

Continuing the chaos over the appropriate standard for determining independent contractor status, a federal judge has overturned the Biden administration’s attempt to withdraw the employer-friendly independent contractor rule issued in the waning days of the Trump administration. This means that the Trump Department of Labor’s rule is back in effect […]

On March 1, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revised its What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and Other EEO Laws resource to add new Q&As about requests for religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Of significance are the following points: Employees Must Request […]

“Caregivers” (e.g. individuals who care for other family members) are not technically a protected class under current federal antidiscrimination law, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued new guidance and updated its “What You Should Know About COVID-19” resource on when it believes that discrimination against caregivers may implicate […]

A recent case offers a good reminder that there are limits on the protections offered by the Americans with Disabilities Act to employees with disabilities. Among those – employees cannot pose a direct threat to themselves or others. And it further provides an overview of how to determine whether such […]

The White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, which was created by President Biden’s April 26, 2021 Executive Order, released a report this month with nearly 70 recommendations that promote worker organizing and collective bargaining in both the public and private sector. Notably, some of these recommendations go […]

This month, the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, released a memo that outlined the steps she is taking to promote better interagency collaboration and coordination in order to ensure the full protection of workers and, ostensibly, to minimize employers’ compliance burdens. Realistically, these steps effectuate the White […]