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Time to Revisit Your “Standard” Employment and Separation Agreements

Confidentiality ClauseA recent flurry of activity from the National Labor Relations Board and its General Counsel has many employers rethinking “standard” contract clauses which employers have routinely included in employment or separation agreements.  Read More ›

Categories: Contracts, Employment, Labor Relations, National Labor Relations Board

Employer Q & A About New Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Pregnant EmployeeThe Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect on June 27, 2023. It was passed by the U.S. Congress in December 2022 with bipartisan support due to a growing awareness of the country’s worsening maternal health outcomes and lack of support for pregnant working mothers. Read More ›

Categories: Alerts and Updates, Employee Benefits, Employment, Labor Relations, Legislative Updates

NLRB Puts Employment Handbooks Under More Scrutiny

Searching Employee HandbookEmployers often have workplace policies which are typically contained in an employment handbook. These handbooks may include policies regarding the confidentiality of business information, the use of cell phones during work, employer internal investigations, the taking of pictures and recordings at work, and not bad-mouthing the company, among others. On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision that will have a major impact on employers seeking to implement and enforce workplace rules and policies. Read More ›

Categories: Employee Handbook, Employment, Labor Relations, National Labor Relations Board

Benefits and Legal Risks of Using Generative AI in Hiring Offers

AI Picking Out CandidateFoster Swift attorneys Tony Dalimonte and Michael Cassar recently teamed-up for a presentation on the potential legal risks related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the recruiting and hiring process.  

The information session, which is summarized below, is part of the firm’s Second Wednesday series of monthly presentations on relevant business and legal topics. Read More ›

Categories: Did you Know?, Employment, Technology

USDOT Approves Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Oral Drug TestingOn May 2, 2023, the United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”) published a final rule that authorizes employers to use oral fluid drug testing as an alternative methodology to urine drug testing. While the final rule became effective on June 1, 2023, employers may not conduct oral fluid testing until the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) certifies at least two laboratories to conduct such testing (one to serve as a primary laboratory and one to serve as a split-specimen laboratory). Read More ›

Categories: Employee Handbook, Employment, Regulations

An Employer’s Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act

ADA Reasonable AccommodationIntroduction

President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The ADA is a comprehensive federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination in employment based upon disability and guarantees access to public accommodations to individuals with disabilities.

Hundreds of ADA lawsuits are filed each year asserting violations of the ADA. As a result, it is imperative for employers to understand the ADA requires. Read More ›

Categories: Employment, Labor Relations

Michigan Senate Passes Significant Amendments to Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act

Discrimination in DictionaryThis blog has since been updated since its original publication in March 2023.

On March 16, 2023, Governor Whitmer signed into law a series of amendments to the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act[1], that added “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” to the law’s list of prohibited discriminatory practices.[2] Read More ›

Categories: Alerts and Updates, Employee Handbook, Employment, Labor Relations, Lawsuit, Legislative Updates

How Employers Handle a Remote Workforce

Remote employee on laptop at homeIn a June 2022 study by Gallup.com, 8 in 10 employees are working hybrid or entirely remote, while only 2 in 10 are entirely on-site.  Read More ›

Categories: Employment, Labor Relations, Liability

Corporate Transparency Act: What You Need to Know Before 2024

Depressed Man with Stacks of FoldersIntroduction and Scope of New Rule

With a stated goal of countering money laundering, the financing of terrorism and other illicit activities (including those of Russian oligarchs currently under U.S. sanctions), Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in January 2021 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. In 2022, the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) began to publish rules in its efforts to begin enforcement of the CTA likely beginning on January 1, 2024. Read More ›

Categories: Alerts and Updates, Did you Know?, Employment, Legislative Updates, News

Federal Trade Commission Issues Sweeping Proposed Rule to Prohibit Noncompete Agreements

Banning Non-Compete ContractOn January 5, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed new regulation that would broadly prohibit employers from using or enforcing noncompete agreements with employees, former employees, contractors, or other workers. Read More ›

Categories: Alerts and Updates, Did you Know?, Employment, Labor Relations, News