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Author Archives: New England Biz Law Update staff

DOL issues FMLA holiday guidance

4th of July fireworks display

In May, the Department of Labor issued an opinion letter, clarifying guidance around managing holiday hours with an employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitlement. The letter serves to reinforce established interpretations, namely: When a holiday falls during a ...

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Distributors can’t be forced to arbitrate misclassification claims

Truck on highway

A federal appeals court has ruled that employee misclassification claims brought by “distributors” who delivered goods from a bakery company to their retailers were not subject to mandatory arbitration. Defendant Flowers Foods, Inc., which owns subsidiary bakeries in multiple states, ...

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EEOC releases assistance document on AI and Title VII

Artificial intelligence

With a focus on preventing discrimination against job seekers and workers, the EEOC has issued a technical assistance document entitled, “Assessing Adverse Impact in Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence Used in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII of the Civil ...

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EEOC updates COVID-19 guidance

Businessmen in masks bumping elbows

In the wake of the federal announcement that the COVID-19 public health emergency is over, the EEOC has issued updates to its COVID-19 technical assistance. The guidance is entitled, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation ...

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Form I-9 flexibility halted by DHS

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made it easier for employers working remotely to file Form I-9. But soon that will no longer be the case. Form I-9 is used to verify the identity ...

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Employee can’t bring FMLA interference claim

Scales of justice in courtroom

An employee who would have been lawfully terminated had they not taken leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act cannot prove that their employer interfered with their FMLA rights by not reinstating them, a federal appeals court has ruled. ...

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Biden administration proposes ban on use of salary history in employment offers

Job applicants waiting to be interviewed

The use of previous salary history in determining pay for federal employment offers would be prohibited under proposed regulations released by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The proposal states that federal agencies would not be able to consider an applicant’s ...

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NLRB reverts to earlier standards for evaluating employee misconduct

National Labor Relations Board ((Geraldshields11 via Wikimedia Commons)

A recent NRLB decision has returned to long-established “setting-specific” standards in cases where employees are disciplined or discharged for misconduct that takes place during activity that is otherwise protected by the National Labor Relations Act. These standards center around how ...

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Pro-employer legislative measure gains support of U.S. Chamber

U.S. Capitol building

A bill introduced in Congress called the “Employee Rights Act” (ERA) has gained the support of employer groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The bill’s goal is to reach a balance between union rights, employee rights, and employer rights ...

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Tips for updating your social media policy

Social media icons

In the past, it was sufficient for employers to have a simple social media policy. An employer could essentially bar employees from using company devices to post nonwork-related content on social media and mandate that work-related posts be business appropriate. ...

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