The Modern Workplace
- Posts by Emily E. MawerPartner
Emily Mawer focuses her practice on higher education and child safety issues. Emily regularly advises colleges and universities on a variety of legal issues including Title IX, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act ...
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”) goes into effect on June 27, 2023. Signed by President Joe Biden last year as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill, the PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodations will cause the employer an undue hardship.
Who is a covered employer under the PWFA?
The PWFA covers employers with at least 15 employees, including both private and public sector employers, Congress ...
Employers should be aware of recent updates regarding two #MeToo-related federal laws: the Speak Out Act and the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.
The Speak Out Act
President Biden signed the Speak Out Act on December 7, 2022, and the law went into effect immediately. The Act makes non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses agreed to prior to a “sexual assault dispute” or “sexual harassment dispute” unenforceable. In other words, non-disclosure agreements signed as part of an onboarding process for new employees are not ...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued new guidance regarding what activities fully vaccinated people may safely engage in. The CDC stated that fully vaccinated individuals can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial laws, rules and regulations. In response to the CDC’s new guidance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) added a statement to its January 2021 guidance stating that OSHA is reviewing the recent CDC guidance and will ...
Many of the updates to the guidance document are consistent with the EEOCs March webinar on COVID-19, but the updates also provide additional clarifying information regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and COVID-19 screening. The ADA continues to apply during the COVID-19 pandemic and requires that any employment disability-related inquiries or medical exams, including COVID-19 ...