Juliana van Hoeven

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On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released several pieces of guidance aimed at addressing discrimination against caregivers, including:

  • A technical assistance document entitled “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law”;
  • Updated COVID-19 guidance, entitled “What You Should Know,” which explains what may constitute discrimination against employees and job seekers with family caregiving responsibilities; and
  • A short video explaining caregiver discrimination in both English and Spanish.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will expedite its consideration of the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.  Legal briefing is already under way and the Court will hear oral argument on January 7, 2022 on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating COVID-19 vaccination or testing. … Continue Reading

Last week, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that an employee whose employment was terminated on the same day she disclosed to her employer that she had tested positive for COVID-19 sufficiently pled a claim of “regarded as” disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”). … Continue Reading

On September 20, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a multi-agency initiative to protect employees from excessive workplace heat exposure.  The Administration acknowledged its public health concern arising from heat waves experienced this summer and what it has identified as a systemic threat to workers from exposure to high temperatures – indoors and outdoors – while doing their jobs.… Continue Reading

Several new developments have come from the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) this week.

In a notice published to the Federal Register on September 2, 2021, the OFCCP announced that it is revisiting its current position on Component 2 pay data, collection of which was suspended during the Trump administration.… Continue Reading

On August 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued detailed updated guidance on appropriate measures for protecting employees in workplaces staffed with both vaccinated and unvaccinated workers.  Importantly, OSHA is now recommending that employers in geographical areas of substantial or high community transmission with mixed-vaccination status employees should require all employees, including fully vaccinated workers, to wear masks “whenever possible,” which OSHA did not define.… Continue Reading

On July 21, 2021, in a 3-1 decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruled that a union does not violate federal labor law with the display of the infamous “Scabby the Rat,” and other similar inflatable symbols, at workplaces that do not employ those union’s workers.   Former NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb, a Trump appointee, had long attempted to kill off Scabby, arguing that using the balloons at secondary protests was an unlawful attempt to threaten and coerce neutral parties.… Continue Reading

On July 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that a wide range of government contractors would be required to pay private sector employees at least $15 per hour, in a plan to carry out President Joe Biden’s executive order signed this past April.  Our blog post about President Biden’s executive order requiring the wage increase can be found here.… Continue Reading

On June 24, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to overturn a formal rule that imposed heightened information sharing requirements on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) during the EEOC’s conciliation process.  The Senate has already voted to repeal the rule.  The bill will now be sent to President Biden, who is expected to sign it into law.… Continue Reading

The United States Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) has dealt a blow to organized labor, striking down as unconstitutional a California law that permitted union organizers access to agricultural company land to speak with workers.

Two California growers, Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing Company, filed suit in federal district court, seeking to enjoin enforcement of a state regulation that required agricultural employers to allow union organizers on to their property for up to three hours per day, 120 days per year. … Continue Reading