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Mental health issues have become increasingly prevalent in the workplace. In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Labor has announced a new website with resources to assist employers in legal compliance and in creating supportive workplaces. Specifically as to employers’ obligations under the law, the website […]

With the declared end of the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board has revised the protocols for manual (i.e. in-person) elections. In July 2020, the GC issued a memo, GC 20-10, that provided guidelines for conducting elections during the pandemic. Traditionally, […]

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has revised the mandatory (for federal contractors) Voluntary (for applicants and employees) Self-Identification of Disability Form, which must be implemented by July 25, 2023. Federal contractors are required to invite applicants to self-identify as an individual with a disability prior to making a […]

In some good news for employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that a relatively common policy prohibiting the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs did not discriminate against employees with disabilities. In Lehenky v. Toshiba American Energy Syst. Corp., an employee who was using […]

Employers may explore creative ways to reduce staffing costs; however, changing an employee’s pay rate to avoid overtime liability is not a legal one, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently emphasized. As most employers know, the Fair Labor Standards Act imposes an overtime requirement for […]

A recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provides clarification of when an operating unit exists for purposes of requiring advance notice of job loss under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The WARN Act requires employers of 100+ full-time employees to […]

According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, “an employee doesn’t suffer harm from an employer’s technical non-compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act’s notice requirements when she receives all her requested time off and is paid for her absences.” The FMLA provides up to 12 […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a federal district court decision denying a request to preliminarily enjoin a final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor that reinstated the 80/20 rule applicable to tipped employees and further limited the amount of an employee’s non-tipped […]

A recent case highlights and clarifies an oft-overlooked provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act – that employers must provide accommodations not only to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, but also to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as non-disabled employees. However, […]

Following issuance of Frequently Asked Questions and an updated Fact Sheet on the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP” Act) as discussed in our March 2023 E-Update, the U.S. Department of Labor has now released a Field Assistance Bulletin to provide additional clarification on how this new law should […]