Jul 13, 2021
by Jenna Lakamp On July 7, 2021, Missouri’s Governor Parson signed into law a bill limiting civil lawsuits that can be brought against Missouri business, religious organizations, and health care providers. SB51 was passed by the Legislature on May 25, 2021, with support from Governor Parson. The law states that no individual or entity will be liable for any COVID-19 exposure, unless the individual can prove they were exposed and suffered illness by “clear and convincing evidence.” In order to
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Jul 1, 2021
by Kylie Piatt In an 8-1 decision issued on June 23, 2021, the United States Supreme Court upheld a student’s First Amendment right to free speech related to comments made via social media while off-campus. In Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., B.L. was a rising sophomore high school student at Mahanoy Area High School, who tried out for but did not make the school’s varsity cheerleading squad. Concurrently, B.L. had tried out for a certain position on her private
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Jun 21, 2021
by Jenna Lakamp On June 16, 2021, the United States Department of Education (the “Department”) issued a Notice of Interpretation (the “Notice”) confirming that Title IX’s prohibition of sex-based discrimination includes discrimination based on students’ sexual orientation and gender identity. This interpretation of Title IX stems from the Supreme Court decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. __ , 140 S. Ct. 1731; 207 L. Ed. 2d 218; 2020 WL 3146686; 2020 U.S. LEXIS 3252 (2020), which was issued on
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Jun 10, 2021
by Mandi Moutray On May 28, 2021, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (“EEOC”) updated and expanded its guidance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically addressed questions relating to COVID-19 vaccinations. The full guidance can be found in the EEOC publication, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws. The updated guidance confirms that federal EEO laws do not prohibit employers from mandating vaccination for all employees physically entering the
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May 25, 2021
by Christine Self As COVID-19 vaccines become wore widely available and workplaces return to more in-person, pre-pandemic environments, numerous questions have arisen about employer requirements related to vaccines. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently addressed one issue, whether employers must record/report adverse COVID-19 vaccine reactions, through FAQs it released on April 20, 2021. Generally, employers are required to record “reportable injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace” on the OSHA 300 log and many employers questioned whether
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May 4, 2021
On April 30, 2021, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation imposing a COVID-19 public health travel ban on foreign nationals with recent physical presence in India. This same type of travel ban is also already in effect for other countries experiencing high levels of COVID-19 infections, including Brazil, China, Iran, Ireland, countries in the European Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Starting on May 4, 2021, foreign nationals who have been physically present in India within 14 days
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Mar 22, 2021
by Aigner Carr As discussed in our prior insight, the Department of Labor (DOL) continues to revise its independent contractor and joint employment rules. As anticipated, the DOL announced on March 11, 2021 a proposal to rescind the Independent Contractor final rule. The final rule was published in January 2021, with an expected effective date of March 8, 2021. However, the Biden administration issued a regulatory freeze on recently adopted laws, including the previous administration’s Independent Contractor
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Mar 10, 2021
by Jim Layton We previously noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed a substantial revision of Section 12: Religious Discrimination in the EEOC Compliance Manual (“Religious Discrimination Manual”). On January 15, 2021, the EEOC adopted a slightly revised version of the proposed Manual-again, in a 3-2 vote. The final version is available here. The “major comments” made on the proposed revision are summarized in an addendum included with that final version. The new Religious
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Mar 10, 2021
by Veronica Potter On March 2, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court released an order (Order) amending the Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules) to enact new discovery provisions. The Missouri legislature previously passed a law in 2019 that amended the discovery Rules in order to bring them more in line with the Federal Rules. Senate Bill 224 (SB 224) was signed by Governor Parsons on July 10, 2019 and took effect on August 28,
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Feb 15, 2021
by Aigner Carr and Adam Henningsen Employers often struggle with applying various tests to classify workers as employees and independent contractors. Properly classifying workers is important for a myriad of reasons. Only employees are entitled to the benefits and protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), including minimum wage and overtime requirements. Independent contractors lack such protections and benefits. Misclassifying workers can expose an employer to significant liability under federal and state wage and hour laws, anti-discrimination laws, and
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Kylie S. Piatt
Mandi D. Moutray
Diane E. Metzger
Melanie Gurley Keeney
Aigner S. Carr
James R. Layton
Veronica E. Potter