Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A recent (and surprising) ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court may allow businesses to be sued in states where they have little connection. The Court ruled 5-4 to uphold a Pennsylvania law that requires a corporation to consent to the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania courts over them as a condition of registering to do business there. […]
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision some have deemed a blow to the right to strike. The 8-1 decision crossed ideological lines, as both conservative and liberal members of the Court either joined the majority opinion or concurred. Strike In August 2017, the collective bargaining agreement between cement manufacturer Glacier […]
For over 25 years now, I have been consulting with companies about diversity and inclusion. This was long before the word “equity” was included. I’ve watched the concepts go from apathy to mild interest to the hottest internal HR and community initiatives that brought the word “equity” into the mix to now diversity, equity, and […]
Since 1977, employers evaluating whether an employee’s religious accommodation request would cause undue hardship on their business had a low burden to meet. A denial of a religious accommodation could likely be justified if the proposed accommodation involved more than de minimis cost or inconvenience to the employer. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court changed that […]
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision against using race as a factor in college admissions doesn’t directly affect employers, but it’s sparking worries about a backlash aimed at efforts to increase diversity in the workplace. In a June 29 decision, the Court ruled 6-3 that admissions procedures at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate […]
On April 18, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case involving a former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) worker who was denied a religious accommodation to observe his sabbath. The broad implications of a decision that favors the former worker could change the analysis for employers when assessing employee requests for religious […]
The title is a prediction, not a done deal. But no later than June 2023, I believe the U.S. Supreme Court will jettison a 46-year-old case that neutered an employer’s obligation to reasonably accommodate all aspects of an employee’s religious observance or practice. And what will the vote be? 9-0. Read on. How Did We […]
Voluntary arbitration agreements involving federal law are enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Section 1 of the FAA exempts certain classes of workers, however, from the enforcement of arbitration. The U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved a federal circuit court split over whether employees who load cargo for the transportation of goods are engaged in […]
A number of high-profile companies are speaking out against the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision overruling Roe v. Wade, and they are backing up their criticism by vowing to help employees wishing to travel for legal abortions. But employers taking such action may face tricky legal issues.
Retirement plan fiduciaries have a duty to monitor investment options continuously and remove all imprudent ones, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) recently ruled in a much-anticipated decision. In the opinion, the Court made it clear the fiduciaries can’t ignore imprudent investment options in 401(k)s or other retirement plans even if other, prudent choices are […]