We always think that it won’t happen to us. That “things like this” don’t happen “here.” But recent shootings in workplaces across the county – like at a grocery store in Buffalo, at a school in Uvalde, and at a manufacturing facility in western Maryland – should prompt employers to consider what they can and […]

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overruled its previous decisions in both Roe and Casey and determined that the United States Constitution’s privacy clause does not guarantee a right to an abortion prior to the date of viability.  Instead, the regulation of abortion will be left to the states.  […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many workplace cultures. One unexpected impact is the rise of requests to bring animals to work. According to the Washington Post, nearly 1 in 5 American households nationwide adopted a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees who were recently working from home may now request to bring their animals to […]

With lakes, beaches, and cabins beckoning, few people enjoy spending Michigan’s magnificent summers in the office or on the factory floor. What to do when half your workforce wants Fridays off? Summertime offers a great chance for employers to use flexible scheduling to show their commitment to their employees, which can boost employee morale and […]

Summer is here and school is out. For many kids that means it’s time for a summer job. (Not everyone can have the kind of carefree summer that Danny and Sandy did . . .) Michigan employers who hire these kids—expected to be about a quarter million this summer—are subject to the state’s Youth Employment […]

As we recognize and wrap-up May as Mental Health Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Labor wants to remind us that the FMLA covers situations when an employee’s mental health condition inhibits them from working. In a Fact Sheet published this month, the DOL provided several helpful examples of mental health- related FMLA-triggering situations. Those […]

  In January, the U.S. Department of Labor released a final rule to aid employers in determining whether they may be “joint employers.”  The rule took effect on March 16, 2020.  Prior to its release, DOL’s previous regulation on the topic had not been updated for over 60 years. Joint employer status is particularly important […]

In response to the C-19 pandemic, we are seeing an increasing number of employee benefit questions.  Many of those questions center on employees’ eligibility under employer-sponsored health and welfare benefit plans during furloughs, and ways that employers can provide financial assistance to employees using employee benefit programs. Because of these questions, we will be touching […]

  On February 27, 2020, the Sixth Circuit — the appellate court that exercises federal control over Michigan and a handful of other states — released its opinion in Fisher v Nissan North America, Inc, ___ F3d ___ (CA 6, 2020).  The plaintiff (Fisher) argued that the defendant (Nissan) failed to accommodate Fisher’s disability and […]

Now that there are confirmed cases of COVID-19 in more than 35 states and the WHO has classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, you’re bound to field questions from your employees about what they should do and how it affects them.  Obvious answers include singing “Happy Birthday” twice (preferably not out loud if you’re anything like […]