Want this news delivered to your inbox? Click here to subscribe and receive updates.
Looking for Lawrence & Bundy making news?
Click to view our most recent media coverage.
Click to view our most recent media coverage.
The pace of employment law change continues to accelerate. We are often told the only constant is change. But can anything top the amount of unanticipated change employers experienced in 2020? We may discover in 2021. To succeed in this chaotic environment, employers need to be prepared to quickly recognize and adapt to new paradigms in the workplace. Click here for the issues and potential changes employers should consider as 2021 kicks off.
Lawrence & Bundy LLC has again been ranked as a U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms.” The firm is proud to have been on the list every year since its inception.
Legal Bulletin
Today, the new Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations interpreting the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) take effect. The revisions (“Revised Regulations”) to the April 2020 Final Rule (“Final Rule”) interpreting the FFCRA address four parts of the Final Rule struck down last month by a federal district court judge: (1) the work-availability exclusion; (2) the definition of “health care provider”; (3) the provisions relating to intermittent or periodic leave; and (4) some of the documentation requirements. New York v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, No. 20-cv-3020, 2020 WL 4462260 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 3, 2020). In a landmark 6-3 decision, the Court considered whether Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LTBT) status. The Court ruled that an employer that fires an employee simply for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination “because of sex.” The ruling was the result of three consolidated cases. Two of the cases ( Bostick v. Clayton County, Georgia, and Altitude Express, Inc. ) involve workplace protections based on sexual orientation. The other case ( R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ) involves employment rights based on gender identity. Courts of Appeals throughout the country previously issued conflicting opinions on this issue.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the Court, stated that the answer to the question of whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender “is clear,” and that answer is no. The Court held that: “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.” Justices Alito & Kavanaugh dissented and called the majority opinion “legislation.” If you have questions regarding the Supreme Court decision, please contact the Lawrence & Bundy LLC attorneys with whom you work. On June 17, 2020, the EEOC updated its guidance, What You Should Know About Covid-19, the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, regarding what testing employers may require for employees re-entering the workplace. (What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws) The update is based on guidelines established by The Centers For Disease Control (“CDC”), which state that antibody test results “should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace.” The EEOC’s most recent guidance states that under the Americans With Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) an employer may not require antibody testing before permitting employees to return to the workplace. The guidance explains that an antibody test is a “medical examination” under the ADA and, because of the CDC’s guidance set forth above, such a test does not meet the ADA’s requirement of an inquiry that is “job related and consistent with business necessity.” The guidance specifically notes, however, that antibody testing is different from testing to determine whether someone has an active case of COVID-19. Previous guidance from the EEOC allows the latter, as it is permissible under the ADA.
If you have questions about any aspect of the EEOC’s guidance, please contact the Lawrence & Bundy LLC attorneys with whom you work. On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”). The legislation, a response to the pandemic COVID-19, also referred to as the “novel coronavirus,” is an emergency supplemental appropriations act designed to provide relief and health care assistance during and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now that some states are preparing to lift shelter-in-place orders that would allow businesses to reopen, employers are trying to determine the best way to have their employees return to work despite the continuing risks presented by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) issued guidelines advising employers about practices that they may take to control COVID-19 exposure in the workplace.
The ABA Well-Being Pledge & Campaign is designed to support lawyer well-being and address the profession’s troubling rates of alcohol and other substance-use disorders, as well as mental health issues. Based on a framework developed by working group member Patrick Krill, the campaign’s goals are to raise awareness, facilitate a reduction in the incidence of problematic substance-use and mental health distress, and improve lawyer well-being. From education to policies to culture, the seven-point pledge identified in the Campaign reflects the core areas on which legal employers should focus and the concrete steps they should take as they seek to achieve those goals.
Happy New Year as we enter this new decade. 2019 saw a number of changes in the employment law landscape, and this year will undoubtedly see even more. Click here to read this year’s resolutions.
Lawrence & Bundy’s Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Kathy Glennon explore how the #MeToo movement has impacted the legal landscape and the workplace in the last two years, discuss red flags for employers and offer tips on mitigating risk. Read the article here.
|
We contribute to the legal field by sharing our experience and insights in the form of articles and presentations designed to improve your way of doing business. You may search by category below, or contact us if you are interested in a field of study not listed here. Categories
All
|