The pharmaceutical industry has been put under the microscope recently in several wage-and-hour cases dealing with the classification of sales representatives. Traditionally, the industry had classified these employees as exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act on the theory that they met the “outside sales” exemption. Although the [...]
The National Labor Relations Board is not having much luck in court lately. Less than a month after a federal court blocked implementation of the NLRB’s mandatory workplace posting rule, Judge James E. Boasberg (an Obama appointee) of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the “quickie elections” rule is [...]
In a landmark decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held that discrimination against transsexual employees constitutes “sex discrimination” in violation of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While there has been a progressive shift toward protection of gender identity in state and federal court decisions and state statutes, the EEOC’s decision [...]
Refusing to hire ex-convicts may violate federal prohibitions against race and national origin discrimination, according to new enforcement guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Because black and Hispanic individuals are arrested and convicted at higher rates than other groups, the EEOC reasons that discrimination on the basis of a criminal background may have a [...]
In honor of Mother’s Day, we consider how employers can create workplace policies that recognize the needs of employees – mothers, fathers, even neighbors – with caregiving responsibilities. Hiring should focus on the applicant’s qualifications, not pregnancy, child care, or other family issues. Assumptions and stereotypes are dangerous. Not all women take on caregiving [...]