Religious discrimination and accommodations have quietly become some of the EEOC’s enforcement priorities, and a string of recent lawsuits shows the agency is not shy about pursuing those claims. For employers, this is a good time to revisit how religious accommodation requests are being handled on the ground, not just on paper.
Title VII
Sexual harassment has been in the headlines again in recent weeks. Just last week, the EEOC filed suit against a trucking company in Michigan over alleged sexual harassment. The EEOC claims that the president of logistics, who was also a member of the board of directors and part owner, passed over more qualified candidates to
Employers sometimes are named in employment litigation or agency investigations for employees who never actually were on their payroll. All sorts of uncomfortable issues, such as confidentiality issues, insurance issues, and indemnity issues, can arise when this happens. The same problem can occur in a union organizing or collective bargaining
Four recent decisions by federal courts show just how much weight an employer’s investigation can hold in litigation, for better or worse. Investigation quality does not operate on a simple pass/fail switch. It moves along a spectrum, and where an employer’s investigation lands on that spectrum — from “feeble” to “flawed” — can decide a
Remember when half the workforce went home in 2020 and, somehow, the work still got done? Employees remember, too, and many have used that history as ammunition today when employers ask them to return to the office. If an employee teleworked successfully for two years during COVID-19, the argument goes, doesn’t that prove they can
On August 26, 2026, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Crystal S. Carey released Memorandum GC 26-04, “Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities.” The memo provides important insight into the general counsel’s enforcement and litigation priorities and identifies several recent NLRB decisions that her office intends to challenge.
The memorandum does not mandate submission
Unless and until there is binding federal law governing noncompetes in all 50 states, noncompete agreements will continue to be governed by state law. In recent years, state legislatures have been increasingly active in regulating noncompetes and imposing minimum requirements that must be met before a court even reaches the question of whether the specific
The year was 1978. Disco was king. Bell-bottoms were all the rage. The first non-Italian pope in 450 years was elected. There was political unrest in Iran. Argentina made a World Cup final (and won it). And who could forget the promulgation of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an employee could establish a failure to accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, where the employee requested to be moved to other positions but instead the employer placed him on unpaid leave. This case serves as an important reminder that, while leave can be
When an employee leaves, most employers focus on the logistics: returning equipment, revoking access, and wrapping up final pay. But for many organizations, there is a critical step that too often gets skipped: a forensic review of the departing employee’s computer and electronic devices. Depending on the nature