The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidance on workplace harassment was approved by a 3-2 party-line vote of the commission. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

5 Takeaways From The EEOC's New Harassment Guidance

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued its first guidance on workplace harassment since 1999, winning plaudits from lawyers who commended the bias watchdog's thoroughness, though the agency noted that some hotly contested issues may need to be handled case by case. Here are five takeaways from the long-awaited guidance.

SpaceX told a Texas federal court that the Fifth Circuit should hear its case arguing that the National Labor Relations Board's structure is unconstitutional, instead of a California federal court. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

SpaceX Again Asks 5th Circ. To Step Into NLRB Challenge

SpaceX called on the Fifth Circuit Wednesday to freeze a National Labor Relations Board hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon, saying in its second trip to the appeals court that it will suffer irreparable harm if the administrative suit proceeds before the agency it claims is unconstitutional.

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su speaking at Thursday's House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing, where she faced tough questioning from Republican lawmakers over her Department of Labor status and recent DOL rulemaking. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Acting Labor Sec. Defends Status, Rules At Tense Hearing

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su defended her U.S. Department of Labor role and recent agency rules at a U.S. House committee hearing on Wednesday from Republicans who accused her of serving through a "loophole" and who questioned the legality of actions under her leadership.

Expert Analysis

What To Expect From The DOL's Final Overtime Rule

Leslie Selig Byrd and Deryck Van Alstyne

The U.S. Department of Labor's final overtime rule dramatically increases the salary threshold for white collar wo... (more story)

Data Shows H-2B Wages May Be Skewed High By Sample Size

Stephen Bronars

Occupational Wage and Employment Statistics wage data from April illustrates that smaller sample sizes from less p... (more story)

Employer Considerations Before Title IX Rule Goes Into Effect

Jeffrey Weimer and Cori Smith

While the U.S. Department of Education's final rule on Title IX is currently published as an unofficial version, i... (more story)

Labor More

5 Benefits Appellate Arguments To Watch In May

The Second Circuit will be asked to revive a 401(k) mismanagement suit against Deloitte, the Sixth Circuit will consider whether to force arbitration of a 401(k) fee suit against two automotive companies, and ... (more story)

Mich. Hospital Aided SEIU Ouster Bid, NLRB Attys Say

National Labor Relations Board attorneys requested a federal court injunction to make a Michigan hospital bargain with a Service Employees International Union affiliate, alleging the hospital aided decertifica... (more story)

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told a CNBC host in 2022 that if workers unionized, "employees would be less empowered in the workplace" and "things would be done less quickly and more bureaucratically." (Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
NLRB Dings Amazon CEO Over 'Better Off Not' Unionizing Talk

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated federal labor law by making public predictions that workers looking to unionize would be "better off not doing so," a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday, but de... (more story)

Worker's Back Pay Is Shell's Issue, New Refinery Owner Says

An energy company that took over a Shell oil refinery isn't liable for back pay owed to a worker wrongly fired before the sale, the company told a Washington federal judge, saying it didn't absorb Shell's legal obligations.

Pa. Court Upholds University Cop's Firing Over Racist Posts

A Pennsylvania appeals court scrapped the reinstatement Wednesday of a Kutztown University police officer who was fired for sharing racist and offensive posts on his personal Facebook page, ruling that the arb... (more story)

Closed Hotel Co. Says Old NYC Severance Law Inapplicable

The former operator of a shuttered Marriott hotel in Manhattan asked a New York federal judge to stop the city from using a now-ineffective severance law to force it to pay $6 million to a hotel workers union,... (more story)

NLRB Judge Seeks Cause In Starbucks, Union Postpone Bid

A National Labor Relations Board judge asked agency prosecutors Wednesday to show cause related to a request from Starbucks and Workers United to postpone hearing dates this month over refusal to bargain claim... (more story)

Discrimination More

Ala., Fla. Trans Patients Urge 11th Circ. To Heed Bias Ruling

Attorneys representing transgender clients in Florida and Alabama have urged the Eleventh Circuit to heed a recent Fourth Circuit ruling striking down bans on state-funded coverage for gender-affirming medical... (more story)

Bipartisan Senators Reintroduce Hair Bias Bill

Two bipartisan senators once again introduced legislation Wednesday that would ban discrimination targeting hairstyles commonly associated with African heritage.

An "irreparable breakdown" between the Donald J. Trump for President Inc. campaign and its lawyers prompted the attorneys to file a motion to withdraw, a request that a Manhattan judge has stalled. (iStock.com/Chet Ostrowski)
Trump's Firm Can't Yet Withdraw After Atty-Client 'Breakdown'

A Manhattan federal judge won't yet allow the attorneys representing Donald Trump's campaign to withdraw from a pregnancy retaliation suit brought by a former campaign aide over what they called an "irreparabl... (more story)

Weinstein On Track For Fall Trial Redo On NY Rape Charges

A New York judge said Wednesday that disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will be retried sometime after September, following last week's decision by the state's highest court to overturn his rape conviction... (more story)

Senior Living Company Resolves Asylee Hiring Bias Claims

 A senior living facility operator has agreed to settle allegations that it unlawfully discriminated against a worker in the U.S. on asylum by demanding that the worker present specific documents to prove that... (more story)

Muslim Recruit Says Atlanta PD Fired Him For Flagging Bias

The Atlanta Police Department abruptly terminated a Muslim police officer recruit after he complained to management that fellow recruits had used profanity to mock his religion, scratched his car and stolen hi... (more story)

SC Atty Settles Ex-Employee's Sex Solicitation Claims

South Carolina-based attorney and law firm founder Billy R. Oswald has reached an agreement with a former employee to dismiss claims alleging he solicited his employees for sex.

Wage & Hour More

NJ, NY Law Firms Dominate Class Action Filings Since 2021

Class actions have been steadily increasing over the past decade, with two firms from New Jersey and New York filing the most suits over the past three years, according to a new Lex Machina report surveying th... (more story)

Judge Mulls New Trial For Uber Drivers' Misclassification Suit

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday seemed poised to start a second trial to determine whether drivers of Uber's high-end ride-share option are independent contractors or employees after a jury deadlocke... (more story)

The U.S. Department of Labor's newly unveiled final overtime rule takes initial effect July 1. (Francis Chung/Politico via AP Images)
DOL's OT Rule Doesn't Touch Trucker Exemption

Certain interstate truck drivers remain exempt from overtime under federal labor law, even as the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new final rule addressing overtime exemptions for other workers. Here, La... (more story)

Construction Workers Get $940K Default Win In Wage Suit

A New York federal judge adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation Wednesday to enter a more than $940,000 default win against a contracting company because it didn't respond to a lawsuit by construction wor... (more story)

Oil Drilling Workers Urge High Court Not To Review PPE Suit

The Third Circuit's view that time putting on and taking off personal protective equipment becomes compensable if the gear is integral and indispensable to employees' work actually aligns with a Second Circuit... (more story)

Fired HR Worker Hits Financial Co. With Age, Sex Bias Suit

A financial services company laid off a human resources worker after she took federal medical leave and in retaliation for her repeated complaints about pay disparities between herself and younger, male employ... (more story)

Overtime Theft Scheme Earns Ex-Mass. Trooper 3 Years

The former second-in-command of a Massachusetts state police traffic safety unit was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a widespread conspiracy to steal federally funded overtime through no-work shifts.