In a recent 8th Circuit case published on March 1, 2017, LaKeysia Wilson v. Arkansas Dept. of Human Services (DHS), Wilson, an African American woman, sued DHS alleging disparate treatment on account of race as well as a retaliation claim.

Another DHS employee, an African American woman, Sharon Meeks was fired in 2013 and

As you know, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was enacted for the purpose of ensuring the safety and health of employees by setting and enforcing certain standards in the workplace.  In furtherance of that mission, OSHA has the power to review settlement agreements between employers and employees under its authority to protect

Thirty plus years of employment and worker’s compensation practice has exposed me to thousands of personnel files and interviews, not to mention my experience with what could easily be twice that many management-level employees. Those that manage employees or those charged with the responsibility of managing the business’ worker’s compensation claims routinely make four common

Employers often mistakenly believe that an employee who quits employment precludes the former employee from obtaining unemployment benefits in South Dakota. The general rule does, indeed, provide as such. However, exceptions exist.

First, the quitting must be “voluntary”. Thus if the employee is given the option to resign or be fired, then employee is still

The National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) continues its heightened scrutiny of employee handbooks’ social media policies as the Board grapples with the concept of “protected concerted activity” in the era of social media.  In an August, 2016 ruling, the Board affirmed an administrative law judge’s decision holding that Chipotle’s social media policy violated the

Two 5th Circuit rulings recently addressed damages in claim brought under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (ADEA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  In Vaughan v. Anderson Regional Medical Center, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 16-6-1-4, a three-judge panel found that the plaintiff was not entitled to any damages for

In March 2016, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report titled: Workplace Safety and Health and Additional Efforts Needed to Help Protect Health Care Workers from Workplace Violence. The study noted that OSHA provides enforcement for the private sector in 24 states and the District of Columbia; that the states provide enforcement

On December 1, 2016, The Department of Labor filed a motion for an expedited briefing of its appeal of a federal judge’s decision to place an injunction on the federal overtime rule, halting its enforcement.  In addition to the Department of Labor, the appeal was brought Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, Wage and Hour Administrator David