Separate analytical reports from the law firms of Carlton Fields and Seyfarth Shaw both found work-related issues are continuing to convince employees to take their bosses to court. As a result, class action defense spending is anticipated to keep accelerating after crossing the $3 billion threshold for the first time in 2021.
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Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate last month came together in a bipartisan effort to push forward legislation that removes clauses in contracts that require arbitration of sexual assault and harassment claims. H.R. 4445, also known as the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, essentially puts the ball in the court of individuals who allege sexual misconduct in the workplace or elsewhere, rather than their accused perpetrators.
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Past the midway mark in 2021, restaurants and bars across the country are still reportedly struggling to find workers. As a result, Hoosier employment attorneys say they’ve seen a trend of staffing shortages exacerbated by the pandemic forcing cooks, servers and hostesses to work significantly more hours.
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Proposed changes to the country’s tipped employee regulations have caused a stir among some states and worker advocates, prompting a temporary halt of further movement from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Read MoreAn Indiana University Kelley School of Business professor didn’t have his Title VII rights violated by his employer when the school didn’t provide him with an early promotion or when it paid one of his white colleagues more than him, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
The Supreme Court says it won’t review the case of a Seattle-based Christian organization that was sued after declining to hire a bisexual lawyer who applied for a job. A lower court let the case go forward, and the high court said Monday it wouldn’t intervene.
Small business owners often wear multiple hats for their companies. In many cases, “Mike” the owner is often “Mike” the employee, with little distinction between those two roles. However, when a dispute arises and “Mike” is squeezed out of the company, how do courts distinguish between Mike’s rights as an owner versus Mike’s rights as an employee?
Previous versions of HEA 1001 provided that any worker could be granted a religious exemption to a vaccine mandate without employers inquiring into the validity of the employees’ claims. Had that version of the bill passed through the General Assembly and been signed by Holcomb, Indiana employers would have clear marching orders when it came to religious exemptions from vaccine mandates. But that provision was hotly contested and, ultimately, removed from the version of the bill that is now law in Indiana. So the question remains: What should Indiana employers do when they receive a request for religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate?
On March 3, President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, which will nullify forced arbitration clauses in sexual assault and sexual harassment cases. Following the #MeToo movement, many states have enacted legislation to limit the scope of claims covered in employment arbitration agreements, but the act is the first federal limitation.
Since FMLA leave is a legal entitlement for the employee and a corresponding legal obligation for the employer, that abstract concept implicates immediate questions: Who is responsible for telling whom about a need for leave? What do they need to say? When?
Noncompete agreements generally are treated the same whether analyzed under state law or antitrust principles. However, limited instances exist in which antitrust laws may be more restrictive than state noncompete laws are. Businesses with high market shares in their geographic and product markets should take special caution to ensure their restrictive covenants do not unlawfully restrain competition.
Businesses routinely use noncompete agreements to protect their most valuable assets, including trade secrets. However, noncompete agreements are increasingly under attack at both the state and federal level. This two-part series will first explain recent developments restricting the use of noncompetes, then Part II will focus on how that increased scrutiny on noncompete agreements may impact trade secret protection.
A federal court didn’t err when it awarded summary judgment to a major steel producer who rescinded a job offer to a man with an uncontrolled seizure disorder, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Congress on Thursday gave final approval to legislation guaranteeing that people who experience sexual harassment at work can seek recourse in the courts, a milestone for the #MeToo movement that prompted a national reckoning on the way sexual misconduct claims are handled.
A construction worker injured in a building collapse was, in fact, an independent contractor, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded, rejecting an earlier finding that the worker was actually an employee of the company he sued.
Over the last 18 months we have seen drastic changes in this country’s employment laws as a result of the pandemic, including new and updated laws and regulations related to sick leave, unemployment compensation and employee safety requirements. One change that has been mostly overshadowed by the ever-evolving nature of the pandemic, and its impact on the employment area, is a shift in the use and the enforceability of noncompetition agreements.
Recent media reports have reflected an increasing trend of employers providing some form of critical race theory training in the workplace. CRT-focused trainings raise legal and practical issues in the employment context.
The Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act provides various protections to service members; most notably, the act requires employers to reemploy employees returning from military service. It is important to understand the basic requirements of the act, as failure to comply with them could expose an employer to claims for lost wages, lost benefits and attorney fees.
A handful of laborers in northwest Indiana who want to oust their union are instead having to cool their heels because, their attorney says, the National Labor Relations Board is not following the new rule it finalized last year specifically meant to prevent delays in votes on union representation.
In March, the 7th Circuit ruled that members of the Chicago Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Unit were not entitled to minimum wage or overtime compensation for off-duty time they spent storing their rifles and gear in their homes. The ruling provides clarification of preliminary and postliminary work activities and the “continuous workday rule” under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Littler Mendelson PC has named Alan L. McLaughlin regional office managing shareholder of the firm’s Indianapolis and San Diego offices.
Joshua Payne-Elliott, a foreign language and social studies teacher, sued the archdiocese after his contract with Cathedral was terminated in June 2019.
The Supreme Court is declining to hear a case that would have let the justices decide whether a single use of the N-word in the workplace can create a hostile work environment.
In a case focusing on elevator graffiti, Robert Collier is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether a single use of the N-word in the workplace can create a hostile work environment, giving an employee the ability to pursue a case under Title VII of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.