Absence Management & Reasonable Accommodation

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By Darien C. Harris, Dawn Reddy Solowey, and Lynn A. Kappelman

Seyfarth Synopsis: As of February 28, 2023, diverse coalitions – including a host of Republican Congressmen and 22 state Attorneys General – have filed nearly thirty amicus briefs urging the United States Supreme Court to seize the opportunity to overturn the decades-old de minimis standard to religious…

Continue Reading With SCOTUS Poised to Redefine Title VII’s Religious Accommodation Test, Republican Powerbrokers and Religious Coalitions Chime In

By Alex J. Reganata and Daniel B. Klein

Seyfarth synopsis: Husband and Wife worked for the same employer, and both took FMLA leave for periodic flare-ups of their respective serious health conditions. The outside FMLA administrator notified the employer that Husband and Wife had frequently taken overlapping periods of FMLA leave. Under the employer’s FMLA policy, providing false or misleading…

Continue Reading In Sickness And In Health: Seventh Circuit Clarifies Evidentiary Standard Required To  Discipline Employees For Abusing FMLA Leave

By Darien C. Harris and Dawn Reddy Solowey

Seyfarth Synopsis: Gerald Groff was a carrier for the United States Postal Service, but his religious beliefs prohibited him from working on Sundays in observation of the Sabbath.  USPS offered to find employees to cover Groff’s shifts, but on more than twenty Sundays no co-worker was available to swap with him.  When…

Continue Reading Will SCOTUS Stiffen Employers’ Obligation To Accommodate Employees’ Religious Beliefs, Overturning Decades-Old Precedent?

By Michael C. Addy and Pamela Vartabedian

Seyfarth Synopsis:  On January 17, 2023, the Tenth Circuit issued a decision in Norwood v. United Parcel Service .  The Tenth Circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision in favor of United Parcel Service (“UPS”), holding that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) does not require employers to immediately tell employees of approved possible…

Continue Reading “Concealing” Approved Accommodations? Tenth Circuit Finds it Does Not Violate the ADA in Certain Circumstances
  • The Illinois House recently introduced legislation that would create a statewide paid family leave insurance program.
  • The legislation would provide eligible Illinois employees with up to 12 weeks of leave in a 24-month period, to be used for time
… Continue Reading Illinois Contemplates Paid Family Leave Insurance Program

By Michelle Shamouilian, Daniel I. Small, Courtney S. Stieber, and Robert S. Whitman

Seyfarth Synopsis: A bill pending in the New York City Council would prohibit employers from discharging employees absent just cause or a bona fide economic reason.  The bill would also ban employers from relying on data collected through electronic monitoring when discharging or disciplining…

Continue Reading At-Will No More? New York City Bill Would Restrict Discharge of Employees

By Saman Haque and Ellen E. McLaughlin

Seyfarth Synopsis: In a recent ruling, Roberts v. Gestamp (Decided August 15, 2022), the Fourth Circuit reversed, in part, the lower court’s decision to grant the Company’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the employee did not follow the Company’s “usual and customary” absence notice procedures as required by the Family …
Continue Reading How A Facebook Messenger Chat Can Become a “Usual and Customary” FMLA Notice Procedure For a Company

By Erin Dougherty Foley and Kimberly Shen, Summer Fellow

Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in an Americans With Disabilities Act discrimination and retaliation case filed by an employee with multiple sclerosis. In rejecting the plaintiff’s claims, the Court’s decision points to the importance of employers having …
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Decision Highlights the Importance of Designing a Legally Compliant PTO Policy

By Gillian B. Lepore, Meg Toth, and Sara Eber Fowler

Seyfarth Synopsis: Illinois recently amended its Child Bereavement Leave Act to expand the reasons for leave, including miscarriage and stillbirth, and adds additional covered family members.  The law will now be called the “Family Bereavement Leave Act” and goes into effect on January 1, 2023. 

On June 9,…
Continue Reading Illinois Expands Its Bereavement Leave Act

By Michael J. Cederoth, Rachel Duboff*, and Erin Dougherty Foley

Seyfarth Synopsis: Accommodation requests continue to vex employers as they attempt to balance an employee’s religious beliefs with the overall needs of the business operations. But try they must. 

Notwithstanding the mangled Yoda quote above, as more employees return to in-person work, it is important to remember an …
Continue Reading There Is No Try: Elimination of Religious Belief Conflict to Work Obligations Accommodation Must Do …. ( Unless Doing So Would Cause Undue Hardship)