Growing Pains: Cultivating Effective Workplace Policies in a Recreational Cannabis State

With the November 7 passage of Issue 2, effective December 7, 2023, Ohioans will be able to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow marijuana plants in their home. Ohio is the 24th state to allow recreational marijuana. When Ohio allowed medical marijuana back in 2016, Ohio employers had to learn …

Did You Hear about the New Law Requiring Employers to Provide Reasonable Accommodations to Pregnant Employees?

On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) became law and requires covered employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations that are related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would cause the employer an undue hardship. The PWFA applies to all federal and state employers …

NLRB’s Combination McLaren Decision and GC Memo KO’s Severance (and Other) Agreements

In the McLaren Macomb opinion issued last month, 372 NLRB No. 58 (2023), the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) landed a healthy punch chipping away at what had previously been considered standard severance provisions in employment contracts because they substantially interfere with employees’ National Labor Relationship Act (“NLRA”) Section 7 rights. On March 22, 2023, …

Why the “Speak Out Act” is More Like a Whisper

On December 7, 2022, Congress passed the “Speak Out Act” (the “Act”), which codified into federal law limits on what types of information employers are allowed to include in nondisclosure or non-disparagement clauses. Specifically, under the Act, employers are now prohibited from requiring employees to sign pre-dispute agreements that contain nondisclosure clauses or non-disparagement clauses …

Yes, CBD Registers On a Drug Screen as THC and, Yes, You Can Be Terminated for It

There is a lot to unpack in the Lehenky v. Toshiba America Energy Systems Corporation, Case No. 20-4573 (E.D. PA, February 22, 2022) case as it answers two very interesting questions. First, does CBD register on a drug screen as THC, and can employees be terminated for using it? Second, is an employer test for …

The Employment Malpractices at the Yellowstone – Dutton Ranch: “Damn Right I Did It!”

With Season 4 of Yellowstone in the books, and having time to fully process the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s OSHA vaccine mandate decisions, we thought we would kick off the 2022 All Things HR Blog by taking a deeper dive into some of the eye-raising employment practices at the Yellowstone – Dutton Ranch. …

U.S. Supreme Court Splits the Baby as It Stays the Private Employer Vaccine or Test Mandate but Keeps the Healthcare Vaccine Mandate in Place

On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court (“Court”) issued two critical decisions: one staying the OSHA ETS vaccine or test mandate, the second allowing the OSHA CMS vaccine mandate for healthcare facilities to move forward. THE OSHA ETS IS STAYED By way of background, the OSHA ETS requires all employers with more than …

Private Employer Vaccine Mandate Moves Forward as Sixth Circuit Dissolves Fifth Circuit’s OSHA ETS Stay

On December 17, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which was chosen via lottery as the federal appellate court to decide whether the OSHA ETS, i.e., the private employer vaccine mandate, would go into effect, dissolved the stay that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had issued, allowing …

The Private Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate is Here: What Employers Need to Know

On Thursday, November 4, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) rolled out temporary emergency standards (“ETS”) implementing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which are expected to become effective November 5, 2021. These emergency rules are intended to address the “grave danger of COVID-19 in the workplace.” …

Why President Biden’s Plan to Vaccinate the Unvaccinated in Private Employment is a Lot of Buzz, but Likely Little Sting

The entire country has been abuzz about President Biden’s Plan for “Vaccinating the Unvaccinated.” The Plan would require private employers with 100 or more employees (“Covered Employers”) to ensure their workers are vaccinated from COVID-19 or tested weekly and to provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated.[1] To execute this Plan, the Department …