Author: Nick Pappas

What obligations do employers have in responding to employees’ objections to vaccine mandates following the Supreme Court’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy?

What obligations do employers have in responding to employees’ objections to vaccine mandates following the Supreme Court’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy?

Winter weather brings renewed attention to seasonal vaccines—and to employers’ interest in encouraging employees to remain healthy and productive, including potentially through efforts to require or incentivize workers to be vaccinated. While not as widespread today as they were during the pandemic, such rules and incentives trigger legal obligations to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who assert that vaccinations contravene...

What impact will the recently enacted New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights have on temporary staffing agencies and their clients?

What impact will the recently enacted New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights have on temporary staffing agencies and their clients?

A first-in-the-nation law that creates new legal protections for temporary workers recently took full-effect in New Jersey, despite opposition from the business community, a conditional veto by the governor and a legal challenge in federal court.  The New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights (the “Act”) provides new protections for temporary workers in certain occupations and enhanced administrative oversight and...

What risks do employers face by excluding coverage for gender affirming care in their health plans?

What risks do employers face by excluding coverage for gender affirming care in their health plans?

In recent years, courts have ruled upon a growing number of cases arising from delivery of and payment for gender affirming care. At the same time, state legislatures have passed a variety of laws aimed at such services. Some states enacted affirmative legal protections for patients and providers (e.g., Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota) while others sought to restrict or prohibit...

Should employers who maintain an ongoing practice of paying workers severance benefits implement a formal written ERISA plan to govern the award of severance?

Should employers who maintain an ongoing practice of paying workers severance benefits implement a formal written ERISA plan to govern the award of severance?

Following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases and the resulting volatility in the stock markets, economists and government officials continue to debate whether the country will experience a hard or soft landing, or no landing at all. While some sectors of the economy remain strong, others have begun to see layoffs. In the face of this uncertainty, employers facing the...

What issues should employers consider before using automated decision-making systems in the workplace?

What issues should employers consider before using automated decision-making systems in the workplace?

Employers using automated decision-making systems, including artificial intelligence, algorithms, machine learning, and other tools (collectively, “ADMs”), in connection with employment decisions are on the precipice of a drastically changed landscape concerning such use. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is preparing to issue its final strategic enforcement plan addressing the use of ADMs in employment. Additionally, states and localities are...

What Issues should Business Buyers Consider when Drafting Non-Compete Agreements with their Sellers to Comply with California Law?

What Issues should Business Buyers Consider when Drafting Non-Compete Agreements with their Sellers to Comply with California Law?

Buyers of all or parts of another business often seek to protect the value of their investments by entering into non-compete agreements with their sellers.  Courts typically favor enforcement of such sale-of-business non-compete agreements in order to protect buyers from unfair competition from sellers, and to protect the business’s goodwill for which the seller has paid as part of the...

Can Officers and Directors Be Held Individually Liable Under State Law for Causing Employers to Violate the WARN Act?

Can Officers and Directors Be Held Individually Liable Under State Law for Causing Employers to Violate the WARN Act?

In the face of recent reductions-in-force and predictions of a recession (Harriet Torry & Anthony DeBarros, Economists Now Expect a Recession, Job Losses by Next Year, Wall St. J., Oct. 16, 2022), employment lawyers are dusting off their research regarding the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq., and similar state laws (the WARN Acts). These...