Category Archives: Discrimination & Harassment

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The EEOC Final Rule on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Takes Effect

Ver la versión en español aquí. Starting today, June 18, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will enforce new regulations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). With this in mind, employers should familiarize themselves with the EEOC’s final rule and interpretive guidance to better understand their obligations under the PWFA and how the … Continue Reading

Employers Beware – Involuntary Job Transfers Can Support Discrimination Suits

Ver la versión en español aquí. A recent U.S. Supreme Court case examined the question of whether an involuntary job transfer can be discriminatory even if the employee’s pay and job title remain the same. The answer? Yes. Historically, most courts, including the Eleventh Circuit, required an employee to have suffered a “significant” employment disadvantage … Continue Reading

Navigating the Naughty and Nice of Holiday Office Parties

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but also the season to be vigilant. Although this time of year is great for fostering camaraderie, it can also present challenges for HR. The office holiday party, in particular, can be a potential minefield of HR issues. View our previous blog posts by Janet McEnery and Glenn Rissman … Continue Reading

Is Civility in the Workplace Dead?

Ver la versión en español aquí Prior to 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took a three-pronged approach to analyzing whether vulgar, threatening, or offensive speech by employees fell inside or outside of the protections of section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). As we discussed at our recent breakfast seminar, depending … Continue Reading

The Moment We’ve All Been Waiting For . . . .

Ver la versión en español aquí The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) goes into effect today!  For those of you who attended Stearns Weaver Miller’s Labor & Employment Law Breakfast Seminar on June 2, 2023, I discussed two new laws that were passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 signed by President … Continue Reading

Take the Off-the-Shelf Employment Agreements… Off the Shelf

Ver la versión en español aquí This is your reminder — always have counsel review and revise every agreement before offering it to an employee.  A number of new decisions and laws have made many standard employment agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, separation agreements, and settlement agreements completely unenforceable.  Below are a few examples…… Continue Reading

Happy Holidays, or Is It? Steering Clear of Religious Discrimination and Other Landmines During the Holidays!

It’s that time of year again and we are all excited to be able to attend our holidays in-person post-COVID. The holidays are wonderful, but can produce some dicey situations for your HR Department. A couple of holiday planning suggestions to help you navigate these holiday landmines include:… Continue Reading

Top Takeaways from Our 2022 Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar

Ver la versión en español aquí. Wow, it has been a whirlwind past few weeks! It was great to see so many of you at our Labor Seminars in Miami, Tampa and Tallahassee. We hope you were able to gain valuable insight into a wide range of topics of interest and importance to you. If … Continue Reading

REGISTER NOW! Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminars

Ver la versión en español aquí. After a two-year hiatus, we are thrilled to be back in person! This year’s theme is “When Really Bad Things Happen to Really Good Employers…” Our annual seminars draw hundreds of human resource professionals, in-house counsel and senior executives from Florida’s top businesses. And for good reason! No one … Continue Reading

Wake Up: What Every Florida Employer Needs to Know About the “Stop WOKE Act”

Ver la versión en español aquí. We also discussed this in our Labor & Employment client alert here. On March 10, 2022, the Florida legislature passed House Bill 7 (“HB 7”), the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act, officially named “Individual Freedom,” but also known as the “Stop WOKE Act.”  The bill … Continue Reading

Can You Force Your Employees to Arbitrate Sexual Harassment Claims?

Simple answer – nope!   On February 10, 2022, inspired by the #MeToo movement, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 4445, an amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), also known as the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021.”  I guess the acronym would be “EFASASHA,” but that looks kind of … Continue Reading

Sundays – A Day to Pray, Not For Pay

Ver la versión en español aquí. In the midst of the Great Resignation, you would think employers would put forth the extra effort to accommodate employees (and to comply with the law).  Yet, last week, the EEOC announced a settlement in a religious discrimination case in which the employer, an Amazon delivery partner, terminated an employee … Continue Reading

Top Takeaways from “Breaking Through the Noise: Labor & Employment Issues Post-Pandemic”

Thank you to our clients and friends who have watched ”Breaking Through the Noise: Labor & Employment Issues Post-Pandemic” so far! We hope you enjoyed it and were provided with timely, relevant and valuable insight. If you have not tuned in yet, the program is available on demand to watch at your leisure. CLICK HERE TO WATCH! Below … Continue Reading

Ready to watch? Breaking Through The Noise AVAILABLE NOW!

IT’S SHOW TIME!   Breaking Through the Noise, our much anticipated 2.5 hour “TV News” program addressing employment issues that you will need to know about in a post-pandemic business environment, is available NOW. CLICK TO WATCH! Block off some time on your calendar now through Sunday, June 20th at 11:59pm ET to enjoy the program!  … Continue Reading

SAVE THE DATES – Breaking Through The Noise: Labor & Employment Issues Post-Pandemic

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!   We are excited to announce the air date for Breaking through the Noise, our much anticipated 2.5 hour “TV News” program addressing employment issues that you will need to know about in a post-pandemic business environment. The program will be available to view on our website at your leisure from Wednesday, June … Continue Reading

Coming Soon in June to a Screen Near You!

For the last 30 years, we have put on a live, all-day conference attended by hundreds of our clients and friends across Florida.  Unfortunately, due to COVID, the seminar was cancelled again this year.  As we know almost everyone is Zoom-ed and webinar-ed out, we thought we’d do something different this year – a two-hour … Continue Reading

Vaccine Passports for the Workplace?

Ver la versión en español aquí Vaccine passports seem to be the hot button issue of the day.  Most of the media coverage and remarks from politicians have focused on businesses requiring customers, guests or students having proof of vaccination before returning to school or entering the business establishment.  But what about employers?  Can an … Continue Reading

ADA Remote Work as a Reasonable Accommodation – It’s Time to Dust Off Those Interactive Process Hats!

Ver la versión en español aquí Until recently, having a pre-existing medical condition bumped you to the front of the line for eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Florida. But as of yesterday, April 5, all Floridians age 18 and older are now eligible to receive a vaccine. As a result, I suspect in … Continue Reading

What to Expect from the White House Gender Policy Council

Ver la versión en español aquí On March 8, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“EO”) On Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council (the “Council”). The purpose of the Council is to promote gender equity and equality with the goal of advancing equal rights and opportunities regardless of one’s gender or gender identity.  The … Continue Reading

Some Things in Life are Free: EEOC’s Miami ADR Mediation Unit Upcoming Zoom Presentation

Accompanying most U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges of employment discrimination is an inquiry from the EEOC’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) unit regarding whether an employer would like an opportunity through mediation to resolve the charge with its former or current employee. If both the employer and employee agree, the EEOC ADR unit will … Continue Reading

The 2021 Florida Legislative Session – The Graveyard for Employment-Related Proposals?

Ver la versión en español aquí Each year Florida legislators meet for just 60 days to propose and pass new laws. The Legislature is now in session through the end of April 2021.  A number of employment-related bills have already been introduced – many are first proposed to lay the groundwork for possible passage years … Continue Reading

Is Sex Addiction Discrimination a Thing?

Ver la versión en español aquí The first time I heard the term “sex addiction” was in 2010, when Tiger Woods announced to the public that he would be stepping away from the PGA Tour to attend rehab. The announcement shook the sports world and sparked a conversation about an addiction that seemed to only … Continue Reading

Twitter, TikTok, and Termination: Navigating Employees’ Social Media Usage

Ver la versión en español aquí With approximately 3.6 billon people expressing themselves using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and most recently, TikTok, employers have to ask themselves some important questions regarding their employees’ usage of these applications.  Should employers set boundaries as to what they will or will not … Continue Reading

Black Lives Matter Apparel At Work – Legal, Business and Social Considerations

Ver la versión en español aquí The Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) movement has sparked significant emotion in the past few months.  As the NBA restarts the season, TV viewers will see the phrase emblazoned on the courts and on some players’ jerseys.  What you won’t see on TV are the large employers which have faced … Continue Reading
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