In Bivens v. ZEP, Inc., the Sixth Circuit held that an employer is not liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title VII), for harassment by a customer unless the employer intended the harassment to happen or was substantially certain it would. This holding represents a clear break from the EEOC and most other …
$27M Verdict Warns Employers: Vet and Train Employees or Pay the Price
A recent $27 million jury verdict should put every employer, especially those in the hospitality, retail, and entertainment industries, on high alert: failing to properly screen and train employees can result in significant liability. On July 26, 2024, a Franklin County, Ohio jury awarded $27 million to the estate of Gregory Coleman Jr., who was …
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Orbiting Opportunity: Why Relocating Employees to Florida is a Strategic Magnet for Retaining Mission-Critical Staff
With the Federal Trade Commission’s non-compete ban out of the picture, the Supreme Court barring most universal injunctions, and the National Labor Relations’ Board directive identifying non-compete agreements as violating the National Labor Relations Act rescinded, the enforceability of non-competes is even more of a state-by-state issue. Florida recently passed HB1219, the Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, …
One Standard to Rule Them All: Supreme Court Strikes Down Higher Bar for Majority Plaintiffs
Introduction On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Service that fundamentally altered how reverse discrimination claims are assessed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). The Court ruled that employees from majority groups, (e.g., white, heterosexual, male) are …
AI on Trial: Implications of the Workday Lawsuit for Automated Hiring
Artificial intelligence continues revolutionizing HR and talent acquisition, promising efficiency and scalability in hiring processes. However, as a recent lawsuit against Workday shows, automation does not absolve employers or their vendors of compliance with anti-discrimination laws. In Mobley v. Workday, Inc., Case No. 23-CV-770, a California federal judge allowed a collective action age discrimination lawsuit …
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Hold Up, Wait a Minute: Judge Blocks Salary Threshold Increase and Rolls It Back to Pre-July 2024
On Friday, November 15, 2024, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s Final Rule (29 CFR Part 541), which would have increased the salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) “white-collar” overtime exemption, which was set to go into effect January 1, 2025. What Is the White-Collar Overtime Exemption? The FLSA generally …
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 …
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