June 2018

Q: Can an employer discriminate against members of the LGBT community on the basis of the employer’s religious beliefs?

A.  On June 4, 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of a bakery that refused to bake a wedding cake ordered by a same sex couple because of the baker’s religious beliefs. The baker argued that requiring him to create a cake for a same-sex wedding would violate his right to free speech by compelling him to exercise his artistic talents to express a message with which he disagreed, and that it would also violate his right to the free exercise of religion. The opinion was eagerly anticipated, as it was expected that the Court would provide some clarity on the question of whether an LGBT individual’s right to be protected from discrimination trumps an employer’s or business owner’s exercise of its sincerely-held religious belief.  The Court failed to address the substantive First Amendment issue, however, and instead focused its decision on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s failure to remain a neutral decision-maker.
Continue Reading Let Them Eat Cake: U.S. Supreme Court Admonishes Colorado Civil Rights Commission to Avoid Anti-Religious Bias

Last week, I attended the annual American Immigration Lawyers Association Conference in San Francisco with 3,500+ others from all over the country (and some from outside the U.S.).  The consensus from the conference reiterated that the immigration landscape is shifting rapidly, and employers must adapt to those significant changes.  Here are some of the most

Q: Can private employers limit workplace speech and activities?

A: Yes, but only if the limits do not violate other laws.

On May 23, 2018, the NFL issued a new rule that will require all players on the field to stand for the national anthem. The NFL will also impose fines to teams whose players, coaches, or staff fail to follow the new rule.  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated the new rule is a compromise because it does not require players to enter onto the field for the national anthem.  If players choose to enter onto the field, however, they are required to stand for the national anthem.
Continue Reading NFL No-Kneeling Compromise: Implications for the Workplace

Q.  I suspect that our company may have inadvertently committed overtime and minimum wage violations. Is there a way I can make this right without incurring substantial legal liability?

A.  Possibly. Earlier this year, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division announced the creation of a new nationwide pilot program called the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. In short, the PAID program encourages employers to conduct payroll self-audits and, if they discover overtime or minimum wage violations, self-report those violations to the DOL and work with the DOL to rectify the problem and ensure employees are paid any wages owed.
Continue Reading PAID Program Provides a Way to Resolve Overtime and Minimum Wage Violations

On May 21, 2018, a divided U.S. Supreme Court held that employers can force employees into individual arbitration and avoid class action lawsuits involving those same employees.

By way of background, in 1925, Congress passed the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), which validated arbitration clauses.  In 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), which