Legal News

Employees or applicants with disabling medical conditions must place the employer on notice of such condition in order to claim protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, as reminded in a new decision from the Tenth Circuit Court...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 96-14.6, individuals are disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits if they are discharged due to misconduct associated with the work. On September 3, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued two opinions that reached...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Employers should realize by now that misclassification of employees as independent contractors can result in a host of legal problems. These include claims based on failure to withhold taxes, provide unemployment and Workers’ Compensation coverage,...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

In recent years, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina and South Carolina) has lowered the bar for plaintiffs to take racial harassment claims to a jury trial when the alleged conduct involved use of racial slurs....By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

In recent years, a number of federal appellant courts, including the Fourth Circuit, have issued opinions finding that a single use of a racial slur can be enough to constitute a hostile and offensive working environment based on race. On August 21,...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

The National Labor Relations Board continues to provide guidance with respect to employers’ attempts to regulate employee social media behavior. In its Boeing Co. decision, the board made it significantly more difficult for employees or unions to...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Perhaps the most frequently violated provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act is that law’s requirement that non-discretionary bonuses be included in non-exempt employees’ regular rate of pay used for purposes of calculating overtime pay. On August...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

It’s not unusual to see an employee terminated or disciplined for workplace harassment to in turn file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that the employer’s reasons for the move were pretext for a discriminatory...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

On August 15, the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued proposed regulations that would expand some federal contractors’ ability to claim exemption from discrimination prohibitions. The proposal would...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

In response to complaints from the trucking industry, on August 14 the federal Department of Transportation proposed new rules that would give drivers and motor carriers significantly more flexibility in scheduling driving and rest hours. Under the...By: Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP