Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation last week that will require Illinois employers to inform workers and job seekers about their use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in making employment decisions. The new law, known as H.B. 3773, also prohibits the use of AI that leads to discriminatory practices against employees. The bill offers
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Is That a Gun in Your Pocket… at the Office? New Thoughts on Workplace Concealed Carry
Can you prohibit your employees from bringing firearms to your workplace? You may think the answer is yes, but it’s more complicated. Recent state laws on gun rights have raised questions regarding guns at work. Here we will try to boil it down for you.
New State Gun Laws Generally
A few states have recently…
When Bad Things Happen to Good Employers: 10 Crisis Management Tips
Crisis planning is not everyone’s idea of a good time, but an ounce of prevention is worth it when you are faced with a crisis.
Here are 10 things to think about as you prepare for a possible crisis:
- Where is your organization vulnerable? Talk to employees, managers, and executives to learn what keeps them
Get with the Pronoun: Eleventh Circuit Rules Pervasive Misgendering Is Harassment
If an employer or coworker persistently uses a transgender worker’s wrong name or identified pronoun, can that constitute a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII? In Copeland v. Georgia Department of Corrections, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said it could, vacating and remanding a trial court’s grant of summary judgment on…
Union Activity on a Coffee Break? DC Circuit Upholds NLRB’s Decision on Pro-Union Pins and Paraphernalia in Starbucks Case
Can you prevent your employees from handing out pro-union paraphernalia if they’re on a paid break? After brewing on the issue, the D.C. Circuit says no, backing baristas in the first of five National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rulings involving Starbucks currently pending before the circuit courts of appeal.
As we’ve noted before, unions…
Fly High (and Out of the EEOC’s Eye) by Updating Your Policies on Pregnancy Accommodation and Lactation
Everyone has been preparing for the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP Act. Earlier this month the EEOC gave us another reason to make sure our policies are up to snuff. Frontier Airlines and the EEOC reached a settlement on claims filed in 2018 and 2019, which alleged that Frontier discriminates…
No (Union) Shirt? No Problem: Fifth Circuit Strips Down NLRB’s Employee Uniform Rules
Can you enforce your uniform policy, even if that means an employee can’t wear a union t-shirt? Earlier this month, in Tesla, Inc. v. NLRB, the Fifth Circuit looked at that very question and ruled for Tesla.
Let’s face it — from UPS employees and Hollywood screenwriters and actors to auto workers and college…
EEO-1s Are Coming!
For more than 50 years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has required certain employers to submit annual EEO-1s with workforce demographic data (i.e., number of employees by job category and by sex and race or ethnicity). Additionally, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs regulations require certain federal contractors to file this data as well.…
Déjà Vu All Over Again? DOL Proposes New Rule on Salaried Exemption Threshold
The DOL issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing, among other things, to increase the salary threshold for white-collar overtime exemptions. You may recall that there was a lot of discussion about this back in 2016 when the DOL proposed a rule raising the threshold from $23,660 to $47,476. Litigation ensued, and a court held…
Bueller? Bueller? EEOC Examining Attendance Policies for ADA Violations
Do you have a “no fault” attendance policy or some other way in which employees get points for absences? If so, be careful. A recent Eleventh Circuit matter, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America, Inc. suggests that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) wants to check out those policies to see if there is an ADA…