Expert Analysis

• 3rd Circ. Ruling Offers Tools To Manage Exempt Employees

  

  The Third Circuit’s recent opinion in Higgins v. Bayada Home Health, finding the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to deduct paid time off for missed employee productivity targets, gives companies another resource for managing exempt employee inefficiency or absenteeism, says Laura Lawless at Squire Patton.

• Illinois Paid Leave Law May Create Obstacles For Employers

  

  Illinois' Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which goes into effect next year, could create issues and potential liability for employers due to its ambiguity, so companies should review and modify existing workplace policies to prevent challenges, including understaffing, says Matt Tyrrell at Schoenberg Finkel.

• What Employers Must Know About FLSA 'Salary Basis' Rule

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  To satisfy the salary basis requirement for administrative, executive and professional employee exemptions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must take care not to jeopardize employees' exempt status through improper deductions, says Adriana Kosovych at Epstein Becker.

• Workers, Labor Take Center Stage At ABA Antitrust Meeting

  

  The American Bar Association’s antitrust spring meeting had a heavy emphasis on upstream markets affecting employees and talent, and prosecutors sent a clear message that they view no-solicitation, no-poach and no-hire agreements as criminal violations, even in the face of several jury trial setbacks, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• New Ruling Shows Benefits Of HR-Only Harassment Policies

  

  By recently ruling that Penguin Random House did not unlawfully retaliate by demoting a supervisor who failed to promptly report sexual harassment allegations to human resources, the Seventh Circuit provides welcome support to companies that want managers to go straight to HR instead of investigating employee complaints on their own, says Robin Shea at Constangy Brooks.

• Opinion

  Federal Judge's Amici Invitation Is A Good Idea, With Caveats

  

  An Arkansas federal judge’s recent order — inviting amicus briefs in every civil case before him — has merit, but its implementation may raise practical questions about the role of junior attorneys, economic considerations and other issues, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.

• Reproductive Rights Ruling May Thwart Employee Protections

  

  The Second Circuit's recent decision in Slattery v. Hochul — greenlighting an anti-abortion group's case against a New York law prohibiting employee discrimination related to reproductive choices — could mean trouble for certain worker statutory protections, say Grayson Moronta and Courtney Stieber at Seyfarth.

• Overcoming Jurors' Social Desirability Bias In Voir Dire

  

  Potential jurors providing socially desirable but insincere answers during voir dire can ultimately hurt one’s case — but attorneys can identify and reduce the effects of this bias by strategically using questionnaires, paying attention to nonverbal cues, and more, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

• How Implicit Bias Instructions May Affect Jury Verdicts

  

  Amid persistent concerns that jury verdicts may be influenced by racial biases, consultants Emily Shaw and Taylor Kidd, and professor Mona Lynch, discuss their new study examining the impact of specialized instructions warning jurors about implicit biases, and highlight several areas ripe for future exploration.

• Fox Ex-Producer Case Is A Lesson In Joint Representation

  

  A former Fox News producer's allegations that the network's lawyers pressured her to give misleading testimony in Fox's defamation battle with Dominion Voting Systems should remind lawyers representing a nonparty witness that the rules of joint representation apply, says Jared Marx at HWG.

• Cannabis Cos. Must Heed Growing Federal Investigatory Risks

  

  As state-regulated cannabis markets expand rapidly, so too does government oversight, and industry participants must plan ahead to avoid potential liabilities related to workplace health and safety requirements, tax audits, securities regulations and foreign bribery laws, say Alicia Corona and Amy Rubenstein at Dentons.

• Protecting Workplace Privacy In The New Age Of Social Media

  

  The rise of platforms like TikTok and BeReal, that incentivize users to share workplace content, merits reminding employers that their social media policies should protect both company and employee private information, while accounting for enforceability issues, say Christina Wabiszewski and Kimberly Henrickson at Foley & Lardner.

• Employee COVID Protocols After National Emergency Ends

  

  Now that the Biden administration has announced its plan to officially end the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency in May, employers must carefully consider how to proceed with their mandatory vaccine policies and other responses to the pandemic, say Elisabeth Hall and Olubusola Olanrewaju at Miles & Stockbridge.

• Calif. FCRA Ruling Boosts Technical Claim Defense

  

  The California Supreme Court's recent decision to let a state appeals court's Limon v. Circle K Store opinion stand will bolster Fair Credit Reporting Act defendants' ability to assert lack of standing against technical claims in cases where plaintiffs haven't suffered concrete harm, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• How Employers Can Leverage Retirement Law Changes

  

  The SECURE Act 2.0 includes significant changes to benefits plans that affect employer plan sponsors and participants alike, but there are particular provisions that can and should serve as retention tools for sponsors who deliberately and thoughtfully convey these benefits to the workforce, say Anne Tyler Hall and Phil Koehler at Hall Benefits Law.