Wisconsin News & Analysis

  • Employers gird for sweeping new COVID-19 rules on vaccines, testing

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 11/01/2021
    by Jessica C. Abrahams, Jeffrey S. Beck, and Kristin Jones Pierre, Faegre Drinker

    By mandating vaccinations for many employees, President Joe' Biden's six-pronged" will have a significant effect on employers across the country. Many key details (including what exemptions may apply to the vaccine mandates) remain unknown until additional federal guidance is provided.

  • Ministerial exemption blocks even hostile environment claims

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 11/01/2021
    by Steven L. Brenneman, Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll, LLP

    As we have reported with greater frequency in recent years, courts dealing with employment discrimination suits against churches, synagogues, and other religious organizations have carved out an exemption that bars claims by "ministerial" employees challenging the employer's hiring and firing decisions.

  • Failure to ask for accommodations halts failure-to-accommodate claims

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 11/01/2021
    by Franck G. Wobst, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, LLP

    An Ohio federal court ruled a commercial truck driver wasn't denied a reasonable accommodation when vision issues prevented him from driving a tractor trailer for several months.

  • Crash landing for aviation worker's retaliation claim

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 11/01/2021
    by Kelly Smith-Haley, Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll, LLP

    Some employees mistakenly believe every complaint they make to their supervisor or HR constitutes protected activity under Title VII. As one former aviation employee recently learned, there are limits to what constitutes protected activity under the law. Read on to learn why the 7th Circuit rejected the former employee's claim that he was fired in retaliation for his alleged protected activity.

  • Workplace harassment? But they don't work for us!

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 11/01/2021
    by Michael J. Underwood, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, LLP

    Most employers are equipped to respond to employee allegations of harassment by coworkers or managers. There are added levels of difficulty, however, when they complain about harassment by a customer, contractor, or other visitor to the business. A federal court of appeals recently ruled a Harrah's Casino employee can go to trial on her claims that (1) she was sexually harassed by a customer and (2) the employer didn't take sufficient steps to address her concerns.

  • U.S. firm's health insurance surcharge for unvaccinated draws interest in Canada, too

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 11/01/2021
    by Nicole Singh and Rebecca Rossi, Fasken

    Employers have been trying to encourage employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Some paid bonuses. Others provided gift cards. What happens when rewards aren't enough? A U.S. employer recently announced a different approach: All unvaccinated employees enrolled in the company's healthcare plan will have to pay a $200 monthly surcharge starting on November 1, 2021. In support for the surcharge, the employer noted all of its employees who were hospitalized with the virus weren't fully vaccinated. Their average hospital stay costs the company $50,000 per person.

  • New NLRB General Counsel identifies possible changes

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 10/01/2021
    by Ryan J. Funk, Matthew A. Fontana, and Carita Austin, Faegre Drinker

    Those of you who have watched the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the nation's primary enforcer of labor law—over the years no doubt expect it to reshuffle its priorities when the White House changes parties. The Board swore in Jennifer Abruzzo as its new general counsel (GC) on July 22, 2021, and three weeks later, she released an internal memorandum blueprint for changes to the law she would like to see the agency implement.

  • No-call, no-show policy: One strike and you're 'out'

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 10/01/2021
    by Franck G. Wobst, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, LLP

    Citing the employer's zero-tolerance "no-call, no-show" policy, an Ohio federal district court recently upheld the termination of an employee who had just returned from a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

  • Workplace primer on attracting, retaining neurodiverse talent

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 10/01/2021
    by Erika C. Collins, Ryan H. Hutzler, and Emily Schipske, Faegre Drinker

    Neurodiversity represents the inherent differences in neurological structure and function. The term encompasses neurocognitive differences such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, Tourette's syndrome, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, intellectual disability, and schizophrenia. Most governments don't provide neurodiverse individuals with the support necessary to enter and remain in the workforce, but many multinational employers are becoming aware of the benefits of having a neurodiverse workplace.

  • 'Long COVID' and the workplace: What a long, strange trip it's been

    From: Wisconsin Employment Law Letter | 10/01/2021
    by Martin J. Regimbal, The Kullman Firm

    Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many people have caught (or know others who have contracted) the virus. Most who recover from the infection do so within a couple weeks or shortly thereafter. For some, however, the symptoms have persisted for months after contracting the illness. The condition has become so common it's now dubbed as "long COVID" and its victims as "long-haulers."