Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Last fall, we were furiously drafting mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies for a variety of employers, including healthcare facilities, employers with more than 100 employees, and federal contractors. With the back and forth of whether a court would block implementation of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates, many of those policies were left in a state of […]
Government employees and officials are granted “qualified immunity” in suits where they act in good faith and with a reasonable belief that their actions comply with the law. Most frequently, qualified immunity is discussed in connection with cases alleging the use of excessive force by police officers. However, a recent case before the U.S. 8th […]
On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania employers) upheld the District of New Jersey’s dismissal of an employee’s age discrimination claims, finding she was unable to show her employer’s nondiscriminatory reasons for not hiring her were “so plainly wrong that it cannot […]
Generally speaking, you can prohibit your employees from engaging in certain activities (including social media use) during work hours or while using your equipment and/or communication systems—and discipline them for doing so.
On September 8, 2022, federal Congressional legislators from Massachusetts and California reintroduced the Nationwide Right to Unionize Act, which takes aim at state “right to work” laws and attempts to increase employees’ right to unionize. Section 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prohibits compulsory union membership and payment of union dues and fees […]
In just a few short years, hybrid working has become an everyday part of corporate life. The combination of working from home and a centralized workplace offers convenience and flexibility, and in progressive countries such as the Netherlands, it may turn into a legal right.
There’s a growing tendency for workers to request mobility in the labor market. Coupled with this is a growing tendency for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees. This phenomenon has been dubbed a “gig” economy. Recently, Uber agreed to pay $100 million to the state of New Jersey to settle a […]
Words matter, and they matter a lot. Or as someone remarked (and I’m paraphrasing), “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between a lightning bolt and a lightning bug.” Here’s a case from Houston that reminds us about this lesson.
While “quiet quitting” may mean different things, the phenomenon is generally understood to refer to employees who feel disengaged at work and no longer believe they are a meaningful part of the company or its mission. Those who quiet quit report they have made a decision not to go “above and beyond” at work and […]
On August 29, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a major decision that reversed a standard it set in 2019. Previously, employers enjoyed substantial discretion to limit alterations to work uniforms or other designated clothing in the workplace.