Menopause is about to get its own line in the U.S. Code, if two House members get their way. Water bottles, bathroom breaks, and sit-or-stand accommodations would become presumptively reasonable under a brand-new federal standard.
In January, then-Governor Phil Murphy signed a law creating a reinstatement right that never existed before. For employers of any size. It takes effect July 17, and even employers confident they’ve got employee-leave compliance handled could be blindsided.
An employer investigated a racial harassment complaint, offered a transfer, and watched the harassment continue. A federal appeals court just sent the hostile work environment claims to a jury.
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
The Employer Handbook Blog