You can’t listen to the news without hearing a story about a possible COVID-19 vaccine. Latest reports indicate that a vaccine will be approved for use in the not so distant future. If employers have not been thinking about this development, they should. As states are opening up again, employers are already struggling with how …read more »
Five Reminders for Employers Preparing for Severe Weather in the Midst of a Global Pandemic
Who could have predicted, as recently as January, that our year would bring us not only an unprecedented global health pandemic but also a busy hurricane season? Yet, here we are, in August 2020, doing our best to stop the spread of COVID-19 while, at least in Houston and the surrounding areas, preparing for Hurricane …read more »
Now Everything’s Settled—Or Is It? Practical Tips for Creating Binding Settlements in Federal Cases
Luckily, most in-house counsel and Human Resources professionals never have to litigate the issue of whether the company and an employee who have putatively settled an employment dispute have in fact reached a binding settlement. However, the issue does arise from time to time. Indeed, our Firm recently prevailed on a relatively rare motion to …read more »
EEOC Requests for Documents and Subpoenas: How Much is Too Much to Turn Over?
In light of COVID-19 era mass layoffs and furloughs, many employers are faced with an uptick in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) investigations and charges of unlawful conduct. One facet of an EEOC investigation is a request for information and documents, which the EEOC may follow with an administrative subpoena for information and documents. The …read more »
2020 Brings Expansions of Religious Beliefs and Moral Convictions Exemptions Available to Employers
The Supreme Court’s recent Little Sisters opinion upheld employers’ rights to decline to provide contraceptive coverage due to a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction. In light of the Supreme Court’s recent expansion of Title VII protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity, the courts might recognize the same reasoning in the context …read more »
Does a Privileged Wage and Hour Audit Always Have to Be Turned Over in FLSA Litigation? The Fifth Circuit Says No, and Offers Employers a Roadmap for Keeping Privileged Analysis Out of Litigation
Does merely defending against a wage and hour lawsuit mean that the company must turn over privileged attorney-client analysis to plaintiffs’ counsel? For several years, employers have struggled with this question in part because several lower-court decisions have been interpreted to hold that asserting that the company made a good-faith, reasonable attempt to comply with …read more »
COVID-19 Related Agency Action in July 2020 – DOL, OSHA, DHS, and IRS Issue New Guidance
July 2020 has been another busy month for the federal and state agencies that regulate employment in addressing COVID-19. The following briefly summarizes some of the most recently-published agency guidance and other resources available to assist employers in navigating the ongoing pandemic in their workplace. These materials include new guidance from the DOL on unemployment …read more »
Practical Advice for Employers Responding to COVID-19 Contact Tracers
In mid-April 2020, which in the age of COVID-19 feels like eons ago, President Trump announced his Opening Up America Again plan, designed to restart the U.S. economy by encouraging state and local governments to lift stay-at-home restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. And many state and local governments followed the …read more »
EEOC and OSHA Answer Important Questions Regarding Workplace Reopenings
The EEOC continues to periodically update its technical assistance document entitled “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” with the latest updates made on June 17, 2020. The same day, OSHA released its “Guidance on Returning to Work,” which makes new recommendations in addition to what …read more »
Employers May Now Offer Bonuses and Other Supplemental Pay Under the Fluctuating Workweek Method of Calculating Overtime Pay
Employers are required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to pay overtime for hours worked over forty (40) in a single week to non-exempt employees based on the employee’s “regular rate.” This general principle has led to both complicated and nuanced questions in application when non-exempt employees are paid on other than an hourly …read more »