Like most states in the country, Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. are all at-will employment jurisdictions. This means that employees and employers can terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason (or no reason at all), and without notice. Of...
kirbeejohnson
kirbeejohnson
THE SLAP HEARD AROUND THE WORLD: EMPLOYMENT ISSUES RELATED TO THE AFTERMATH
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (no pun intended), you saw Will Smith slap Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. Today, the Academy's Board of Governors issued a statement that "for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be...
What Can We Expect from the Next Supreme Court Justice?
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is poised to become the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Throughout her confirmation hearings this week, the topic of Judge Brown Jackson’s race was raised on more than one occasion, and some have questioned whether...
CROWN Act – Hairy Situation for Employers?
Today the US. House of Representatives passed the “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair” Act, also known as the CROWN Act. The bill, which President Biden says he “strongly supports”, now heads to the Senate. The purpose of the bill is to...
Lessons from The Office: Do Employees Need to Be Paid for Volunteer Work?
In the season 4 episode of The Office titled “Fun Run,” the character of Michael Scott (the Regional Manager of the fictional company Dunder Mifflin Inc., played by Steve Carell), accidentally hits his employee, Meredith, with his car, sending her to the hospital. ...
U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Scores Goal for Equal Pay
Earlier this week, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team reached a settlement in its class action lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. According to the complaint, which was initially filed back in 2016 and brought claims under Title VII and the Equal Pay Act,...
He said, SHE SAID!: Another Victory for the #MeToo Movement As Congress Invalidates Forced Arbitration Agreements
Employers commonly include mandatory arbitration clauses in their employees’ employment contracts, which prevent their employees from filing employment related claims in court. While these clauses are often touted as promoting efficiency, they have come under fire in...
NFL Flagged for False Start on Rooney Rule
Back in 2020, the National Football League (NFL) had its teams paint social messages in the back of their end zones. Among them was the phrase “End Racism.” Nearly two years later, the NFL is realizing that racism can’t be stenciled away. On Tuesday this week, a...
OSHA Throws in the Towel in Vaccine Mandate Fight…For Now
As we previously blogged, the Supreme Court recently blocked enforcement of OSHA’s vaccine mandate for large employers on the grounds that OSHA lacked authority to issue a rule related to public health threats, as opposed to strictly “occupational” health hazards. As...
“Hail Zorp!”: Lessons from Parks and Recreation on How to Handle Religious Exemption Requests
On Parks and Recreation, Amy Poehler plays Leslie Knope, the Deputy Director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana. In season 3, she is desperate to have a local plot of land preserved as a National Park. She admits, “I’m looking for anything to...