Employer Law Blog

This morning, SCOTUS issued its decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, a case heard during the first week of its current term.  In the decision, the Court extends anti-discrimination protections in the workplace to LGBT employees, in a 6-3 decision written by Justice Gorsuch and joined by Chief Justice Roberts. 

The Supreme Court recently ruled in E.E.O.C. v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, that a job applicant only had to show that the need for a religious accommodation was a motivating factor in the prospective employer's decision to not hire the applicant in order to prove a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and not that the employer had actual knowledge of the applicants need for an accommodation based upon one's religious practice. Title VII prohibits a prospective employer from refusing to hire a applicant because of the applicant's religious practice when the practice could be accommodated without undue hardship.

On March 18, 2015, the General Counsel of the NLRB issued a report providing guidance to employers regarding handbook rules which violate Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA as well as specimen policies which don’t violate the Act in the General Counsel’s opinion.

The United States Supreme Court recently issued its ruling in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, upholding a Department of Labor (“DOL”) interpretation regarding the status of mortgage loan officers as non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). At issue was whether the DOL could alter its position regarding whether mortgage loan officers qualify for the administrative exemption under the FLSA without adhering to the notice-and-comment rulemaking process set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).

In 2004, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) updated its regulations addressing the various white collar overtime exemptions. In part, the DOL identified a number of employees which may be exempt under the “administrative exemption.” One of the specific examples listed in the regulations, 29 CFR § 541.203(b), were employees “in the financial services industry,” provided such employee did not have as his or her primary duty the selling of financial products.