The short answer is, private sector employers can very likely terminate the employee. If the employee is at-will, they can be fired for any non-discriminatory reason (or no reason at all); and, intentionally using the wrong name or pronoun to refer to a coworker is certainly a non-discriminatory reason. Even if the employee has “for cause” protection through an employment contract, there’s a pretty good chance that intentionally misgendering their coworker is sufficient cause to terminate, especially if they’ve been previously warned about similar behavior.
The issue ...
“This” is a no-call/no-show policy, the terms of which are generally something like: “An employee who is absent from work for three consecutive days without giving proper notice to the Company will be considered to have voluntarily abandoned their position and resigned from employment with the Company.”
A recent Michigan state appellate court decision illustrates one reason why employers should have a no-call/no-show policy disseminated to all employees. In that case, an employee who was terminated after being absent for three consecutive days without calling-in to ...
Employers who require employees to undergo mandatory security checks, health screenings, or similar pre- or post-shift activities take note: a growing number of courts have determined time spent waiting to undergo and actually undergoing the check or screening may be compensable under state law.
The most recent example is the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which concluded that the time Amazon employees spent on their employer’s premises “waiting to undergo, and undergoing, mandatory security screening” was compensable time under state law. That “state law” ...
On July 23, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule to increase the minimum wage for employees of covered federal contractors and subcontractors to $15.00 per hour. This rule follows President Biden’s Executive Order calling for an increase to the minimum wage for federal contractors. The rule suggests that the minimum wage increase go into effect January 30, 2022 and increase annually beginning in 2023 based on inflation.
The Proposed Rule is not final and may be revised. The DOL is accepting comments until August 21, 2021 and will publish its ...
Just when we were starting to let loose and enjoy the summer without masks, as a result of rising number of COVID-19 cases and the Delta variant, the CDC revised their guidance for fully vaccinated individuals on July 27, 2021 with the following changes:
- Fully vaccinated individuals are recommended to wear masks when indoors in areas of substantial or high transmission.
- Fully vaccinated individuals who have a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should be tested 3-5 days after exposure, and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days or until they receive ...
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled 3-1 on July 21, 2021 that labor unions may continue to use large, inflatable balloons–usually in the shape of an ugly rat–to aid in publicity of labor disputes, whether connected with traditional picketing activity or without. The inflatable rat balloon used by the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 has been nicknamed “Scabby.” Scabby was the subject of the NLRB’s ruling. In that case, Local 150 erected Scabby and banners at the entrance to the parking lot at an RV tradeshow. The rat and signage identified ...
On June 15, 2021, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance on “Protections Against Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity.” This resource reviews the impact of the Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County case and provides the EEOC’s position on what constitutes unlawful discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The EEOC’s answers to key questions on this issue are summarized below.
Does Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination extend to treatment based on ...
On June 25, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed into law additional amendments to the IL Equal Pay Act of 2003.
March 2021 Amendments (Recap)
As outlined in our March 23, 2021 blog article, Will Employers Have to Give 1% of their Total Gross Profits to the State of Illinois? Gov. Pritzker Signs into Law Unprecedented Changes to IL Equal Pay and Corporate Laws, the March amendments to the Act require businesses with 100 or more employees to obtain certification of compliance with the Equal Pay Act from the IL Department of Labor (IDOL).
The certification process requires employers to ...
It’s that time of year (again) for increases in minimum wage. However, this year is slightly different! In spite of the Cook County written notices that some employers may have received, the Cook County Minimum Wage for non-tipped employees is NOT increasing, as the unemployment rate for Cook County during the prior year was greater than 8.5%. However, the Cook County Minimum wage for tipped employees will increase on July 1st from $6.00 to $6.60 to match the increase under Illinois law. For City of Chicago employers, the minimum wage for both tipped and non-tipped ...
On June 21, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it has proposed new rulemaking, and is seeking input on significant limits to an employer’s ability to utilize the tip credit.
Under the current law, the Fair Labor Standards Act and many state laws allow employers to pay employees in tipped positions a lower cash wage, and take a credit against the tips earned by the employee to make up the balance for the applicable minimum wage. The proposed changes impact when the tip credit is applicable.
The proposed rule places the work that a tipped employee performs into three ...
Welcome to the Labor and Employment Law Update where attorneys from Amundsen Davis blog about management side labor and employment issues.
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