New OSHA Rule Impacts Post-Injury Drug Testing Policies
The Occupational and Safety Administration’s (“OSHA”) new electronic reporting requirements impact certain employers’ post-accident drug testing policies that require an automatic drug test following a work related injury. OSHA adopted the rule in May 2016, (effective August 10, 2016) in order to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses, by requiring...
Department of Labor’s Final FLSA Rule re: White-Collar Overtime Exemptions
On May 18, 2016, The United States Department of Labor released its final revised overtime rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et. seq. (“FLSA”). This rule represents the most significant modification of the FLSA’s overtime regulations in over twenty years.
Prior to the...
Missouri Supreme Court Expands Admissibility of “Me Too” Evidence in Age Discrimination Cases
On September 22, 2015, the Missouri Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, reversed a jury verdict in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs in a Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) age discrimination case brought by a former employee on the ground that the trial court improperly excluded evidence from numerous other older employees...
Missouri Appellate Court Rules Sexual Orientation Discrimination Not Actionable Under Missouri Human Rights Act
On October 27, 2015, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, in a case of first impression, held that employees could not state a cause of action for discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation or preference under the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). Pittman v. Cook Paper Recycling Corp., 478 S.W.3d...
National Labor Relations Board’s Expanded Joint-Employer Standard
On August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) broadened the joint-employer standard under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) in Browning-Ferris Industries of California d/b/a BFI Newby Island Recyclery, Case 32–RC–109684. This is a significant decision because it modifies long-standing precedent. Generally, two entities are joint employers if (1) they...
Department of Labor’s Expanded Definition of Employee under FLSA
On July 15, 2015, The United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released an Administrator’s Interpretation, which broadly defines an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) so that most workers would be classified as employees, not independent contractors. The Administrator’s Interpretation applies an “economic realities” test to the FLSA’s...
Impact of Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Decision on Employee Benefits
On June 27, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held that marriage between same-sex couples is a fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses. Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S.Ct. 2584, 575 U.S. ___ (2015). Although further litigation may occur, this ruling clears the way for same-sex marriage in...
Supreme Court Holds Employer’s Actual Knowledge Not Required for Religious Discrimination Claim
On June 1, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held that in order to prevail on a Title VII religious discrimination claim, an employee did not need to prove that the employer had knowledge of a request for a religious accommodation, but only needed to prove that the employer’s desire to avoid an...
Supreme Court Provides Accommodation Protection for Pregnant Employees
The United States Supreme Court held, in a March 25, 2015 decision, that employers must either accommodate pregnant employees to the same degree as they accommodate other employees “similar in their ability or inability to work,” or show a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for refusing to do so. Young v. United Parcel Service, 135...
EEOC Statistics Fiscal Year 2014
The EEOC reports that it received 88,778 charges last year. This is...