May 2024 E-Update

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US DOL Issues Guidance on AI and the FLSA, FMLA, PUMP Act, and More!

On April 29, 2024 the U.S. De   partment of Labor issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2024-1, Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems in the Workplace under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Federal Labor Standards, to provide guidance on the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other workplace laws in light of the increasing use of artificial intelligence and other automated technologies in the workplace.

For more, click here.

Very Helpful Guidance on Harassment Claims from the Seventh Circuit!

A recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit provides much useful guidance for employers on unlawful harassment under Title VII, including third-party harassment. In doing so, the Seventh Circuit noted, Title VII “does not ensure that the worker will have wise and skilled superiors with a sharply honed sense of social justice and a mastery of personnel management.”

For more, click here.

Supreme Court Holds Courts Must Stay, Not Dismiss, Cases Sent to Arbitration

On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that, when a party to a lawsuit seeks arbitration pursuant to an arbitration agreement, a court must stay – and may not dismiss – the lawsuit. In so holding, the Supreme Court resolved a split among the federal U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals on this issue.

For more, click here.

 

Employers May Be Required to Provide Paid Short-Term Military Leave Under USERRA. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has joined several sister Circuits in finding that employers who provide paid leave for short-term absences, like jury duty or bereavement leave, may be required to provide similar paid leave for short-term military purposes under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.  For more, click here.

The EEOC Has Sued 15 Companies for Failing to File Their EEO-1 Reports!  Many companies treat the annual EEO-1 filing requirement with some lack of urgency and, historically, there has been little to no consequence for failing to file the EEO-1 form. For more, click here.

Employers, Leave Those Union Flyers in the Breakroom Alone…  In the past, when cleaning employee breakrooms, employers have been able to dispose of any papers left behind – including union flyers. But a recent case from the National Labor Relations Board suggests a hands-off approach to union flyers in employee breakrooms. For more, click here.

Those Reasonable Accommodation Requests Can Be Pretty Subtle… And Context Matters!  Although employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations only where the employee makes their need for accommodation known, courts have repeatedly held that there are no “magic words” in order to trigger their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Sixth Circuit reiterates this point. For more, click here.

The OFCCP’s AI Guidance for Federal Contractors (and Private Employers?). In addition to the U.S. Department of Labor’s AI guidance for employers discussed elsewhere in this E-Update, the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs released Artificial Intelligence and Equal Employment Opportunity for Federal Contractors guidance specifically for federal contractors and subcontractors – but which contains useful tips for all employers.   For more, click here.

 

As Maryland employers should be aware, the General Assembly passed a law in 2022 that set up a paid family and medical leave insurance program (known as FAMLI). The program will apply to all employers with employees in Maryland. It will provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, with the possibility of an additional 12 weeks of paid parental leave (for a possible total of 24 weeks of paid leave). This $1.6 billion program will be administered by the State and funded by contributions from employers and employees. Contributions will begin on July 1, 2025, with benefits starting July 1, 2026. For more, click here.