Articles and Blogs

On July 8, 2019, the Sixth Circuit issued an employer friendly opinion strengthening the enforceability of routinely included mandatory arbitration provisions in employment contracts. In its opinion, the court rejected a former employee’s claim that “two completely different and conflicting terms” for resolution of all legal disputes rendered the mandatory arbitration clause in his... READ MORE

On June 25, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Act”) to make Illinois the eleventh state to allow recreational marijuana use. Effective January 1, 2020, adults age 21 and older may purchase and possess up to 1 ounce (30 grams) of marijuana at a time from a... READ MORE

On June 12, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit joined the Second, Sixth and Eighth Circuits in determining that without evidence of an underlying physiological disorder, a plaintiff’s weight does not qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). In the Seventh Circuit case Richardson v. Chicago... READ MORE

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) agreed on June 28, 2019, to delay implementation of the recently finalized Conscience Rule. We wrote about the Final Conscience Rule and its potential impact on health care employers and organizations in our recent blog. The Conscience Rule prohibits discrimination of individuals who refuse to... READ MORE

Minnesota’s “Wage Theft Law” goes into effect on July 1, 2019, resulting in significant changes to the state’s labor and employment laws. The new legislation imposes requirements on employers in Minnesota to provide notices and maintain records, create criminal and civil penalties for wage theft and grant additional authority to the Minnesota government agencies... READ MORE

In an unanimous decision authored by Justice Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that Title VII’s charge-filing precondition is not a jurisdictional requirement but instead a mandatory claim-processing rule, which may be forfeited if the party asserting the rule waits too long to raise an objection.[1] This decision emphasizes the importance of timely... READ MORE

On May 14, the National Labor Relation’s Board (“Board”) Advice Division released an advice memorandum recommending that the Board reconsider three picketing cases decided during President Obama’s administration. The memo provides insight regarding how the General Counsel’s Office, and the Board, may interpret picketing activity in the near future. This advice could affect health... READ MORE

Update: On November 6, 2019, a federal judge sitting in the Southern District of New York voided the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Final Conscience Rule set to take effect November 22, 2019. For more information, click here. Update: This blog article was originally posted on May 20, 2019, and it stated... READ MORE

The Supreme Court of the United States announced a landmark ruling about arbitration clauses on April 24, 2019. In Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, the high court held that an arbitration clause does not permit class arbitration without clearly and explicitly stating so. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, reasoning that... READ MORE

New Jersey’s Law Mirrors Michigan’s and That of Other States Must employers accommodate off-duty use of marijuana? A recent appellate decision in New Jersey serves as a warning to Michigan employers about that question and even raises the specter of having to accommodate positive drug tests for non-disabled employees and applicants. For health care... READ MORE