Seyfarth Synopsis: Since ChatGPT became available to the public at large in November 2022, employers have been wondering, and asking their employment lawyers, “What kind of policies should we be putting in place around the use of ChatGPT in the workplace?” Although at this stage it is difficult to imagine all of the different ways ChatGPT
Continue Reading ChatGPT – What Employers Should Be Worried About NowBy: Julia Keenan, Alex Drummond and Robert Nobile
On July 1, 2022, the law Florida Governor Ron DeSantis labeled the “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees,” or Stop WOKE (“Act”), is set to go into effect, amending Florida’s employment discrimination laws state wide. The Act is currently facing a First Amendment challenge in Florida. However, on Monday, June
Continue Reading Florida’s Stop WOKE Act Is Set To Go Into Effect On July 1 – What Should Employers Do?
By Ashley Laken
Seyfarth Synopsis: The NLRB’s Division of Advice recently released an Advice Memorandum finding that a security company’s work rules were unlawfully overbroad, but that the company did not violate the National Labor Relations Act by discharging one of its employees for posting an insidious Facebook video or by filing a defamation lawsuit against two former employees.
Earlier
By Erin Dougherty Foley and Craig B. Simonsen
In a DOL blog posted last week we learn that driving-related crashes are the number one workplace killer.
Remember … we’ve warned against driving and phone usage before. “Employees Using Cellphones And Other Portable Devices While Driving: Should Employers Ban This Completely?”, and “Employees Driving In Illinois? What
Continue Reading Beware Strangers Bearing Gifts! DOL Promotes “Free” National Safety Council “Cell Phone Policy Kit”
By Pamela Q. Devata, Cameron Smith, and Courtney S. Stieber
On April 16, 2015, the New York City Council passed Intro-261-A, a bill that would amend the New York City Human Rights Law to make it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to use an individual’s consumer credit history in making employment decisions. In particular, the bill makes
Continue Reading New York City To Prohibit Use of Credit History in Employment Decisions
By Sara Eber Fowler and Johanna T. Wise
Last week, an en banc panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals took a fresh look at whether Ford Motor Company’s decision to deny an employee’s request to telecommute four days a week violated the ADA. Reversing its prior ruling from last year (previously reported here), the 8-5 panel in
Continue Reading So Is Telecommuting A Reasonable Accommodation? Not So Fast Says The Sixth Circuit, Reversing Course.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) arms employees with two types of causes of action against employers. First, its “retaliation/discrimination” provisions prohibit employers from discharging or discriminating against employees for “opposing any practice made unlawful” by the FMLA. Second, the FMLA’s “interference” provision states that it is “unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or
Continue Reading Employer Intent Is Immaterial In FMLA Interference Claims
By Sara A. Eber
Scanning the news as of late, you may have heard a lot about e-cigarettes: those battery-powered cartridges with blue LED lights that look like real cigarettes, but instead of emitting tobacco smoke, release a vapor mix of nicotine and water. They even come in tantalizing flavors, like bubble gum, piña colada, and cantaloupe. According to e-cigarette
Continue Reading It’s Getting Foggy Out There: In The Haze of E-Cigarette Popularity and Regulation, What’s an Employer To Do?
Sometimes all you need is a fresh start…or two. In its third attempt at filing a complaint challenging an inflexible 12-month leave limitation policy, the EEOC injected new life into an ongoing battle against maximum or “no-fault” leave policies by classifying them as impermissible “qualification standards” in violation of the ADA.
Last month, the Chicago-based U.S. District
Continue Reading Third Time’s the Charm: The EEOC Successfully Asserts Inflexible Leave Policies are Impermissible Qualification Standards under the ADA
By Tracy Billows, Annette Kim, and Abigail Cahak
Finding balance, being able to spend more time with children, aging parents, and still maintaining a job are hot topics we regularly see in the media. Well, if Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney has her way, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) will be expanded to address some of these
Continue Reading New Bill Proposes Expansion of FMLA to Include Smaller Employers and Parent Involvement Time