The Massachusetts legislature this week passed a new bill that would limit the use of noncompete clauses in that state. The new law, which still must be signed by Republican Governor Charlie Baker, would allow employers to prevent their workers from moving to ... More »
Last Friday, respondents filed a motion for reconsideration in the Hy-Brand case. As we’ve covered (here and here), the NLRB vacated its decision in Hy-Brand (thus restoring the Obama-era joint-employer standard) because a Board member had a conflict of... More »
Yesterday in EEOC v. R.G. &. G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, the Sixth Circuit held that “Title VII protects transgender persons because of their transgender or transitioning status” as a form of sex discrimination. In comprehensive and unequivocal language, th... More »
At the New York Times, Michael Corkery writes about the allies “Dreamers” find in the business world. The article, which identifies public statements made in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by prominent busines... More »
After Google terminated James Damore for his now infamous memo, he claimed that he was fired for concerted activities protected under the National Labor Relations Act (discussed in Part One) as well as for pointing out “potentially illegal policies/behavior.” ... More »
A New York Times piece covers the impact of drug tests (and drugs) on the economy. In particular, it profiles various manufacturing companies in the Midwest, revealing the challenges they face filling jobs due to the proportion of applicants who fail drug tes... More »
I recently proposed a Workers’ Bill of Rights, and invited others to respond with suggestions for other rights that should be included. I did receive some helpful comments, and in response I would propose adding three additional rights to the ones I had previ... More »
Uber and Lyft returned to Austin, TX on Monday after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 100 into law, eliminating Austin’s fingerprint requirements for drivers. As the LA Times describes, the bill designates the state, not local, government as the regulator... More »
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and prospective employees “because of . . . sex.” In the Supreme Court’s view, this language “strike[s] at the entire spectrum of disparate treatment of men and... More »
In 2012, the EEOC ruled in Macy v. Holder that Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination included discrimination against transgender employees. The unanimous decision was the first time the EEOC held that transgender people are protected from discrimi... More »
Title VII protects LGBT workers from discrimination, a federal appeals court ruled for the first time yesterday. The plaintiff in the case, Kimberly Hively, alleged that she had been fired from her teaching job because she is a lesbian. In an 8-3 decision, t... More »