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In employment discrimination cases, the parties often retain experts to opine about various aspects of the case. An expert may provide, for example, insight as to job performance issues or, in many instances, determine the nature and scope of an employee’s alleged damages. But can an expert determine if the employer’s conduct constituted “discrimination”? The …
Continue reading “Can an Expert Define and Determine What Constitutes Discrimination?”
Ohio employers will soon see their employees be able to purchase recreational marijuana when dispensaries open in the coming weeks. Ohio’s recreational marijuana program stems from a 2023 citizen-driven campaign to create a program that allows all Ohioans over 21 years of age to purchase marijuana without needing a doctor’s recommendation first. That initiative, known …
Continue reading “What Ohio Employers Need to Know As Legal Marijuana Sales Begin”
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 …
Current economic circumstances suggest that layoffs are coming. Indeed, in late March, Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, announced the company’s plans to terminate more than 7,000 employees in the coming weeks, and Disney is not alone.[1] If companies and HR professionals do not carefully plan group terminations, they could face long, expensive lawsuits filed by multiple …
Continue reading “Layoffs Require Careful Planning to Avoid Costly Lawsuits”
The wait is over – Michigan employers (and employment lawyers) now know that the Earned Sick Time Act and Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, as originally proposed, will NOT go into effect on February 20, 2023. In an opinion issued January 26, 2023, the Michigan Court of Appeals panel in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General overturned …
Continue reading “Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act Is Out…At Least For Now”
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) to ban the use of non-compete clauses with all workers. Although not yet enforceable, the proposed rule marks a dramatic departure from the current regulatory landscape, which is primarily dictated by state law. A non-compete clause is a contractual …
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In a world with an increasingly mobile and remote workforce, onboarding and off-boarding employees are more complicated than ever. Many companies now have single “outpost” employees in various states across the country. Similarly, many companies are encountering key employees asking to move (or moving without asking) to a state where the company previously had no …
The Federal Government has updated some of its standard forms employers are probably used to seeing. Last week, we discussed the EEOC’s addition of a gender marker option to its voluntary self-identification process and passport applications. This week, we will discuss the changes to Form I-9. Federal law requires that every employer who recruits, refers …
Continue reading “UPDATED FEDERAL FORMS PART 2: I-9 Identification Documents Must Be Unexpired”
The Federal Government has updated some standard forms employers are probably used to seeing. In this two-part blog series, we will identify the changes in these new forms, starting first with the EEOC’s addition of a gender marker option to its voluntary self-identification process and passport applications. Next week, we will discuss the changes to …
Continue reading “UPDATED FEDERAL FORMS PART 1: EEOC Additional Gender Marker Option”
On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and its Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2022-02 (FAB). FAB focused on retaliation against employees who assert rights under a broad array of federal laws, including the FLSA, FMLA, the Migrant and Seasonal Workers, various work Visa programs (such as …