Blog Posts: Employment

If you’ve served in the military and faced problems at work because of your service—like being denied a job, promotion, or your old position back after deployment—you may have legal rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA. If you file a claim and win your case, what happens? What can you potentially be awarded? A ...

Filing a charge of employment discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) can be confusing when determining who the employer is. That’s especially true in a complex corporate environment, where multiple companies may seem to be in charge. This is where the “integrated enterprise doctrine” comes in. It’s a legal concept used by co...

On March 3, 2022, Congress enacted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) which precludes employers from requiring employees to arbitrate disputes related to sexual assault or harassment. The EFAA amends the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) to give individuals asserting disputes related to sexual assault or harassm...

The Arizona minimum wage increased from $14.35 per hour to $14.70 per hour. The latest increase will take effect on January 1, 2025, and will remain in effect until December 31, 2025. This means that Arizona employers will need to start paying the higher minimum wage ($14.70 per hour) for all hours worked after January 1, 2025. If employees are classified as tipped...

On September 26, 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against extending California's strict noncompete ban to agreements executed outside of California and governed by another state’s law. This decision highlights the limitations of California’s noncompete statute—Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 16600-16607—which broadly prohibits noncompete agree...

As the name suggests, the United Services Employment and Reemployment Act (“USERRA”) requires employers of active-duty service members to hold open the employee/service members job while deployed—whether overseas, for training, or otherwise. We often call this the “FMLA” provision of USERRA, referring to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, because the s...

In this second article of our USERRA series, we explain how a veteran or member of the military recognizes discrimination and/or retaliation in violation of USERRA. Discrimination USERRA prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee because of their past or current military service. Specifically, USERRA prohibits an employer from denying service m...

Arizona voters passed Proposition 209 in November of 2022.  Although billed as a healthcare debt interest rate limit, it surprisingly impacts Arizona employers.   In Arizona, generally, thirty days after an election, propositions will become law.  The effective date was December 5, 2022, and applies prospectively only. The largest changes for employers and the...

When people think of a “protected class,” they often think of age, race, gender, or disability. While those are some of the classes protected by anti-discrimination laws, often-overlooked classes include honorably discharged veterans and active-duty service members. The United States Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is a federal law that was pas...

In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court held that an employee need only show “some harm” to maintain a Title VII discrimination claim against an employer for a lateral job transfer. Background After nine years as a plainclothes officer in the St. Louis Police Department’s specialized Intelligence Division, Sergeant Jatonya Muldrow was transfer...