Here’s a scenario HR nightmares are made of: an employee allegedly invents a sexual harassment accusation to eliminate a rival for a coveted position. The rival gets fired. The employer gets sued for defamation.
Firing a medical marijuana user after a positive drug test may seem straightforward — until a federal court explains why it isn’t.
A federal appeals court ruled in 2024 that New Jersey job applicants had no legal recourse when employers rejected them over a positive recreational cannabis test. The New Jersey Appellate Division just disagreed.
A warehouse worker started her job seven months pregnant. Thirteen weeks after delivering, she was fired. One sentence from the HR rep is why this case is going to trial.
Most paid sick leave laws protect employees who follow the rules. A D.C. federal court just illustrated what happens when one doesn’t, and why a written call-out policy is the difference between a defensible termination and extended litigation.
At the British Academy Film Awards – better known as the BAFTAs, the U.K.’s version of the Oscars – a man with Tourette’s Syndrome interrupted the ceremony while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award, shouting a racial slur.
That public moment raises a workplace question: If an employee with Tourette’s involuntarily uses the N-word around Black colleagues or the B-word around women, does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require the employer to keep him in his job? Continue reading
Under basic contract law, yes. But thanks to the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, that may not be the end of the story. Continue reading
A recent Southern District of New York decision is being described as “AI destroys privilege.”
That’s not what the court held. But employers using consumer AI tools in connection with employment decisions should pay attention. Continue reading
Before the champagne pops and the Slack notifications finally stop, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what actually defined the workplace this year.
Not the initiatives.
Not the slogans.
The refrains.
Some of these are healthy habits. Others are the phrases that tend to show up right before problems do.
Here’s what kept ending up on repeat in 2025. Continue reading
Congress is not slowing down on AI regulation. Weeks after lawmakers introduced a bill requiring employers to track how many jobs AI creates and eliminates, another proposal has arrived that targets how employers actually use AI at work. Continue reading
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