Posts

Supreme Court Decision in Groff v. DeJoy Increases Burden on Employers Under Title VII for Denying Religious Accommodations

By
Employers will now have to show a higher degree of hardship to deny employee requests for religious accommodation. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 29 C.F.R. § 1605.2(b)(1), employers are required to grant employee requests for religious accommodation “unless the employer demonstrates that [the requested] accommodation would result in undue hardship on the conduct of its business.” On July 29, 2023,  the United States Supreme Court unanimously clarified  in  Groff v. DeJoy  that a religious accommodation only results in “undue hardship” when “the burden of granting [the] accommodation would result in  substantial  increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.”  The “substantial increased cost” standard is a departure from the lower “more than a  de minimis  cost” standard that has prevailed since 1975. For the last 48 years, employers could deny religious accommodations for causing “undue hardship” if the accommodation would impose “more than
Post a Comment
Read more

OSHA’s New Rule on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Is Back in Force (For Now)

By
  In the ongoing legal battle over the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing (the “ETS”), a federal appeals court has given OSHA authority—for now—to move forward with enforcement.  The core of the ETS is the requirement that employers with more than 100 employees must implement and enforce a policy that mandates that employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4, 2022 or to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing and wear a mask.   However, in light of the numerous legal challenges and the uncertainties caused by the conflicting decisions in federal court, OSHA has stated that it will exercise its “enforcement discretion” to give employers some additional time to comply with deadlines published in the original ETS.  OSHA states that it will not issue any citations for non-compliance with ETS requirements before January 10, 2022, and will not issue citations before February 9, 2022 for failing to enforce
Post a Comment
Read more

OSHA's Mandatory Vaccination Rule Stayed by Federal Court

By
On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration published its anticipated emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing (the “ETS”). Citing the “grave danger” posed by the virus to unvaccinated employees in the workplace, the headline-grabbing core of the ETS is the requirement that covered employers must implement and enforce a policy that mandates that employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4, 2022 or to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing and wear a mask.   The ETS stated that it was to take effect immediately, i.e ., when it was issued on November 5, 2021.   However, numerous legal challenges to the ETS were filed in federal courts across the country on the same day it was issued.   The challengers in the legal cases asserted, among other things, that the ETS is not valid because OSHA did not have the authority to issue the ETS and that it is unconstitutional. In one of those challenges, the U.S. Court of Appeals fo
Post a Comment
Read more

Webinar: Families First Coronavirus Response Act

By
Join our Webinar to discuss the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, including its new paid leave requirements, tax credits, and frequently asked questions.  The webinar will be at 1 PM ET on March 23, 2020.  There is no cost for this timely presentation.  Resister here . The Act goes into effect on April 2, 2020 and will impact private employers with 500 or fewer employees and all public employers as they navigate the sweeping effects of COVID-19. During this webinar, we will will cover topics including:  Employer and employee coverage under the Act Emergency Paid Sick Leave Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act  Calculating the correct pay rates during paid leave Tax credits for Paid Sick and Paid FMLA Leave Frequently asked questions
Post a Comment
Read more

Navigating the Business and Legal Challenges of COVID-19

By
At Womble, we are working closely with our clients as they seek to address the enormous business and legal issues arising from COVID-19.  Our teams have put together a hub collecting our up-to-date legal alerts and guidance for businesses across sectors and across the US and abroad.  The hub, with links to articles, events, and resources, can be found here .  Our thoughts are with all individuals, families, and businesses impacted by these challenging times.
Post a Comment
Read more

FLSA Update: Final Regulations on Overtime Exemptions Likely in 2020

By
As businesses move closer to planning their 2020 fiscal year budgets and considering pay increases, they should keep in mind that proposed overtime regulations are nearing final publication by the U.S. Department of Labor.  The new regulations will impact the so-called "white collar" overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, and highly compensated employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA").  If the regulations become final in 2020 as expected, they will increase the minimum compensation levels required for those workers to be classified as exempt from overtime. Workers who do not meet the higher compensation levels cannot be classified as exempt from overtime under the FLSA.  So, the new regulations may result in the need for businesses to give pay increases to some workers to keep their overtime exemptions in place, or otherwise prepare to pay overtime to workers who no longer meet the minimum compensation levels. The new regul
Post a Comment
Read more

Womble Hosts Local SHRM Chapter for Employment Law Update

By
Image
(Winston-Salem, NC)  For the eleventh year in a row, John Pueschel of Womble Bond Dickinson’s Winston-Salem office hosted the 2019 Legal Update for the Winston-Salem Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management at the Firm’s Winston-Salem office. Over 50 HR professionals of clients and local businesses attended. The event provided information and best practices on legal issues of particular interests to HR professionals. Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys led many of these sessions, which included: Internal Investigations, led by Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Kurt Stakeman and J.T. Moser , Director of Enterprise Risk and Corporate Investigations at Wake Forest University Health Sciences; Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Gemma Saluta , who is a Board-certified workers’ compensation specialist, facilitated a Q&A session with Industrial Commission Deputy Commissioner Michael Silver ; EEOC Re quest for Collection of Pay Data, presented by Womble Bond Dickinson attorney
Post a Comment
Read more