For decades, employers have used technology to help decision-making, from hiring to performance bonuses. While seemingly taking human biases out of the equation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have voiced concerns over potential disability discrimination from the use of technology.

1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) filed a brief seeking to expand unions’ right to obtain recognition from employers based on signed authorization cards alone, without the need for a Board election. In a brief filed on April 11 in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, No.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that emotional distress damages are not recoverable in private actions to enforce statutes authorized by the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., No. 20-219 (Apr. 28, 2022).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed rule to restore and expand Obama-era requirements for high-hazard employers with at least 100 employees to submit their injury and illness forms electronically to the agency.

1. Major League Baseball and the players’ union reached agreement on a collective bargaining agreement, ending the lockout. After a nearly 100-day lockout, MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached a deal on a five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA deal came in time for the season to start just a week later than originally scheduled, with Opening Day set for April 7.

A federal court must have an independent jurisdictional basis to confirm or vacate an arbitration award and cannot “look through” to the underlying dispute to establish jurisdiction, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a case involving an employee’s wrongful termination claim. Badgerow v. Walters, et al., No. 20-1143 (Mar. 31, 2022).

The federal court that issued a nationwide injunction of Executive Order (EO) 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors,” has issued a new Order stating that it enjoined only the vaccine requirement of the EO’s implementing tool: the Safer Federal Taskforce (Safer Taskforce) Guidance.

In 2021, wage and hour laws continued to change and develop, expanding in some areas and contracting in others. In “2021 Wage & Hour Developments: A Year in Review,” we look back on significant wage and hour developments at both the federal and state level. 

Click here to download the 2021 Wage & Hour Developments: A Year in Review.

A Georgia federal district court judge has issued a preliminary nationwide injunction halting enforcement of Executive Order (EO) 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors.” Georgia v. Biden, No. 1:21-cv-163 (S.D. Ga. Dec. 7, 2021).