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
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
Is your employee handbook a binding contract? A recent case from the Alabama Supreme Court, Davis v. City of Montevallo, says sometimes it is. Many employers issue handbooks to set forth guidelines for what employers expect of employees, and also what employees can expect from their jobs. In at-will employment states, companies think of
Workplace hair discrimination is a topic that has floated through the media for the past several years. To prohibit discrimination, California has implemented the “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act.” Specifically, California’s CROWN Act amends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), an act that functions to prohibit specified discriminatory
If you are considering using video cameras or other surveillance in your workplace, state law might have something to say about it. There are many reasons you might want to use video cameras in your workplace – employee safety, insurance benefits, customer service quality assurance, to name a few. However, don’t forget that state law
With Hurricane Ivan wreaking havoc, our thoughts go to those in the path of the ever-strengthening storm. The first priority for all affected is safety, but severe weather does also raise numerous employment law issues. Employers are again reminded that weather can affect your workplace. With hurricane season underway, we have updated this previously published
With historically low unemployment rates, attracting and retaining top talent can be a challenge for employers. To distinguish themselves from the pack, many companies are considering tuition assistance programs to both develop their workforce and as a benefit to attract and retain talented employees. Although the offer of student loan assistance might give you a
With the warmer months rolling in and travel rates skyrocketing, it’s likely that many of your employees are taking days away from the office. It may be time to give some attention to your paid time off (PTO) policies and to your state law on PTO. State law in this area is evolving, and it
Roughly a month ago, the U.S. House of Representative voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which decriminalizes marijuana under federal law. Most notably, the MORE Act would remove marijuana as a “scheduled” drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The proposed MORE Act also addresses other marijuana-related topics, such as
Decisions, decisions. Can you require that your employees get a COVID-19 vaccine, and if you do, can you make the employees tell you their vaccination status? This is not an easy answer and may be more complicated given the new law in Tennessee, SB 1823.
Given that COVID-19 vaccines have been available to Americans