With the 2024 election in full swing in the U.S., employers should anticipate political discussions and activity in the workplace. From employees taking time off from work to vote to expressing their political opinions during work, employers should remember a few key points related to their employees’ rights to eliminate potential issues in the workplace.Continue Reading Election season: Key reminders for employers
EEOC issues long-awaited enforcement guidance on workplace harassment
On April 29, 2024 – for the first time in more than twenty years – the EEOC issued its long-awaited updated Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. The updated guidance, which supersedes the EEOC’s decades-old guidance from the 1980’s and 1990’s, now addresses subjects arising in the modern workplace, including the rise of remote work, the #MeToo movement, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020), in which the Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. A few key updates that employers should be aware of include the following:
Conduct in virtual environments
With the increase in virtual and remote work, the Guidance explains that conduct within a virtual work environment can constitute a hostile work environment. Stated differently, the existence of harassment and a hostile work environment is not limited exclusively to a physical workplace. To illustrate its point, the Guidance identified several example scenarios where harassment could exist in a virtual or remote workplace, such as sexist or ableist comments made during a video meeting or typed into a group chat, “racist imagery that is visible in an employee’s workspace while the employee participates in a video meeting,” or “sexual comments made during a video meeting about a bed being near an employee in the video image.”Continue Reading EEOC issues long-awaited enforcement guidance on workplace harassment
Unpacking the FTC’s ban on U.S. non-compete agreements: Reviewing the fine print
As we posted on Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has at long last issued its final regulatory rule banning virtually all existing and future U.S. non-compete agreements. In this series, we will unpack some of the more nuanced questions surrounding the final rule.
Does the final rule bar or invalidate non-compete agreements that ban competition while a worker is still employed by a business?
No. The final rule only applies to post-employment competitive activities. And in fact, in many states, employees have common law obligations to not engage in competitive activities during their employment, regardless and separate from any contractual obligations.Continue Reading Unpacking the FTC’s ban on U.S. non-compete agreements: Reviewing the fine print
U.S. Supreme Court decision in Groff v. DeJoy: clarifying religious accommodations
Earlier today the United States Supreme Court released a unanimous opinion in Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General, No. 22-174, clarifying the “undue burden” standard under applicable to religious accommodations under Title VII after nearly 50 years. Specifically, the Court held that Title VII requires an employer who denies a religious accommodation to show that
BREAKING: FTC proposes rule to ban U.S. non-compete agreements
As we discussed in an October 2021 article regarding the future of restrictive covenant agreements in the U.S., President Biden in July 2021 directed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to explore potential ways to limit the use of non-compete agreements. On January 5, 2023, the FTC followed through on the President’s directive by proposing
New York implements Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program
On August 3, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the implementation of New York’s Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program (the Bonus Program). The Bonus Program, passed as part of the State budget, amends New York Social Services Law by requiring qualified employers to pay up to $3,000 in bonuses to certain health care and mental hygiene workers over statutory vesting periods. This post details the eligibility, qualifications, and employer obligations under the Bonus Program.
Which employers and employees are subject to the Bonus Program?
A qualified employer is an employer with at least one employee that either: (i) bills under the state Medicaid plan; (ii) bills under the home or community-based services waiver; or (iii) bills for Medicaid through a managed care organization or managed long term care plan. Providers, facilities, pharmacies, and school-based health centers licensed under the New York Public Health, Mental Hygiene, and Education Laws, as well as certain state agency funded programs, fall within this definition.
“Front-line” health care and mental hygiene workers who “provide hands-on health or care services to individuals” are eligible to receive the bonus. This includes full-time and part-time employees and independent contractors who are physically present in New York. To qualify for a bonus under the program, an employee must also: (i) earn less than $125,000 annually; (ii) remain employed by a qualified employer for the duration of at least one vesting period (which the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has established is six months); (iii) have a title included on the list of Eligible Worker Titles published by the NYSDOH; and (iv) not have been suspended or excluded from the Medicaid program during the vesting period.
The NYSDOH further clarified in a Town hall meeting that employees who work remotely, but serve in patient-facing roles such as telehealth nurses and social workers, are also considered eligible employees, provided that they meet the criteria outlined above.Continue Reading New York implements Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program
Pennsylvania on the path to increase threshold for tipped employees (part 2)
In our original post, we reviewed the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approval of proposed new regulations by Governor Tom Wolf’s administration concerning tipped employees.
Since then, the Pennsylvania Attorney General completed its review and approved the regulation. The regulation will go into effect on August 5, 2022. Below is a review of
Pennsylvania on the path to increase threshold for tipped employees
In November 2021, Governor Tom Wolf’s administration proposed a new regulation that will require tipped employees to earn at least $135 a month in tips before an employer is permitted to pay the $2.83 per hour tipped rate, rather than state’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Currently, in Pennsylvania, employers can pay tipped employees
Congress passes bill prohibiting sexual harassment and assault arbitration
On February 7, 2022, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 4445, which would modify the Federal Arbitration Act by carving out an exception for cases involving sexual harassment and assault. The bill titled, “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021” – which was passed by the Senate on
Pennsylvania businesses with COVID-19 vaccine requirements may have to provide new exemption for employees
Pennsylvania House of Representatives members have proposed House Bill 2318, which proposes that employers must provide a “natural immunity” exemption to employees under any employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate policy. The bill defines “natural immunity” as possessing immunity to the COVID-19 virus as a result of previous infection caused by the virus. Thus, if the proposed