Table Of ContentE L U
MPLOYMENT AW PDATE
BY JONATHAN INGBER, MST, JD, CPA
Notice to readers
Employment Law Update is intended solely for use in continuing professional education and not
as a reference. It does not represent an official position of the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants, and it is distributed with the understanding that the author and publisher are
not rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services in the publication. This course is
intended to be an overview of the topics discussed within, and the author has made every attempt
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© 2019 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, Inc. All rights reserved.
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ISBN 978-1-11976-381-9(Paper)
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Course Code: 746443
LAWU GS-0419-0A
Revised: April 2019
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 1-1
Employment Law Overview 1-1
Protected classes 1-5
Chapter 2 2-1
E-Employment and Cyber Employment Issues 2-1
Chapter 3 3-1
Wrongful Termination, Harassment, and Retaliation 3-1
Chapter 4 4-1
Discrimination 4-1
Chapter 5 5-1
Disability Discrimination and the ADA 5-1
Chapter 6 6-1
Wage and Hour Laws, FMLA, HIPAA, and COBRA 6-1
Chapter 7 7-1
Noncompete, Nondisclosure, and Nonsolicitation Agreements 7-1
Appendix A A-1
Employment claim risk assessment tool A-1
Glossary Glossary 1
Index Index 1
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Solutions Solutions 1
Chapter 1 Solutions 1
Chapter 2 Solutions 4
Chapter 3 Solutions 8
Chapter 4 Solutions 11
Chapter 5 Solutions 15
Chapter 6 Solutions 18
Chapter 7 Solutions 22
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Chapter 1
Employment Law Overview
Learning objectives
Evaluate the major categories of employment law exposure for employers.
Assess the historical and current trends in employment law claims, settlements, and verdicts.
Analyze the process by which most employment claims get to federal or state court.
Recognize that the applicability of state or federal law is a function of the concept of federalism.
Preliminary note
In September 2017, William J. Emanuel1 was confirmed as the newest member of the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB), marking the transition from Democratic to Republican majority control of the
NLRB. President Trump has nominated Janet Dhillon to be chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC). In November 2017, Peter Robb was confirmed by the Senate as the NLRB’s
incoming general counsel following his nomination by President Trump.
1 Mr. Emanuel practiced management labor law at Jones Day and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius prior to serving as a
shareholder in Littler Mendelson, P.C. He has published labor articles and authored amicus curiae briefs.
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Commentators have suggested that the majority-Republican-controlled NLRB may revisit the NLRB’s
effort to classify franchisors as co-employers with their franchisees (the McDonald’s case). Several of
former President Obama’s executive orders have been rescinded, including:
Executive Order 13673 [Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces] on March 27, 2017
Executive Orders 13683 and 13738, both of which had amended Executive Order 13673
The Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress2 has sought to limit or reduce
theEEOC’s enforcement budget — consistent with the administration’s “pro-business” approach — and
the EEOC may seek to eliminate or revise pending EEOC rules. One such rule made major revisions to the
Employer Information Report (Form EEO-1) by requiring employers to report wage information broken
down by gender and race. That rule was scheduled to become effective in March 2018, and was
approved by a “party-line” vote of the then-Democratic EEOC majority.
It also is possible that the new administration could at some point propose legislation to establish federal
paid sick leave rights, as President Trump approvingly spoke of during the campaign. President Obama’s
Executive Order 13706 required up to seven days of paid sick leave for workers on federal contracts. The
U.S. Department of Labor implemented the order through final regulations effective January 1, 2017,
covering procurement contracts for construction under the Davis-Bacon Act, service contracts covered
by the Service Contract Act, and contracts in connection with federal property or lands and related to
offering services for federal employees, their dependents, or the general public.
Speaking in generalities, the newly constituted EEOC is expected to be more accommodating to
employers in 2019 and the NLRB is predicted to exhibit a more business-friendly approach in 2019. No
matter your politics, it is clear that labor policy and priorities in the new administration have and will differ
materially from recent historical policies and priorities.
Background on employment law
Employment laws in the United States consist of federal laws that apply throughout the country, as well
as state laws that sometimes are consistent or may vary from state to state. Our employment laws
developed in response to a variety of factors, including media exposés of unsafe or poor working
conditions,3 societal changes, and perceptions that employers may have taken advantage of workers or
failed to compensate them fairly. Many employment laws are intended to “level the playing field” among
job applicants, employees with similar skill sets and work performance, and persons of different races,
genders, religious beliefs, and other attributes. One constant in employment law is change; that is, as our
society’s values and beliefs evolve, employment law is often revamped in reaction to those changes. For
2 As of January 3, 2019, the House of Representatives is controlled by the Democratic majority.
3 Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle depicted health violations and unsanitary practices in the Chicago
meatpacking industry. A review by the writer Jack London called it “the Uncle Tom’s Cabin of wage slavery.”
© 2019 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. All rights reserved. 1-2
this reason, employment is a dynamic4 area of the law that calls for financial officers and managers to
understand recent developments and anticipate the impact of identifiable trends.
In addition to applicable employment laws, the courts also have acted to protect employees from
unscrupulous employers. Over time, the courts developed “public policy” rights that are important bulwarks
against wrongful actions by employers. Sometimes public policy rights are set forth in employment laws,
while in other instances the courts or the EEOC have issued decisions that define or expand public policy5
rights. The following are examples of public policy rights that the courts or the EEOC have enforced, even
for employees who are employed “at will”6 and who can be terminated at any time for any reason or no
reason at all:
Free of discrimination
An employee should work in an environment free of, and not be terminated or forced to resign because
of, discrimination based on a protected category.
Free of harassment
An employee should work in an environment free of, and not be terminated or forced to resign because
of, sexual, racial, religious, or disability-based harassment.
Free of retaliation
An employee should work in an environment free of retaliation by the employer if the employee reports
wrongdoing, violations of law, violations of company policies, or if the employee refuses to perform an
act that would violate federal or state law.
Time off
An employee should be able to take time away from work to which the employee is legally entitled.
Exercise free speech rights
An employee should be free to express factually based opinions and exercise in any media permitted free
speech rights that do not disparage others, are not false, are not intended to cause emotional distress,
and do not divulge company confidential information.
4 “The demands on those who study and practice labor and employment law have increased as well. The 1952
edition of the United States Code (the official edition) included a Title 29 (Labor) that occupied 58 pages and ended
with Section 262; by 1970, its 149 pages concluded with Section 678; the 1988 edition version of Title 29 was 578
pages in length. The 712 pages of the 2000 edition went to Section 3058. In 2016, the final section number is 3361.
The case law growth has been similar.” Employment Law in a Nutshell, Covington and Seiner, 4th ed.
5 “Broadly, principles and standards regarded by the legislature or by the courts as being of fundamental concern to
the state and the whole of society. Courts sometimes use the time to justify their decisions, as when declaring a
contract void because it is ‘contrary to public policy.’” Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th Ed., Bryan A. Garner, Editor in Chief.
6 “In 1877, the first edition of H.G. Wood’s treatise on the master-servant relationship articulated what seemingly
became America’s at-will employment doctrine. Fn 4, Covington and Seiner.
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Benefit from applicable privacy rights
An employee should have his or her protected health information, disciplinary matters, and personal
information protected in accordance with applicable privacy laws.
Benefit from consistent application of employer policies
An employee should have the right to have the employer consistently follow investigative, disciplinary,
and termination procedures that are set forth in the employer’s policies or in applicable law.
When an applicant’s or employee’s statutory or public policy rights are violated, an applicant or employee
may be able to sue for hiring, reinstatement, promotion, back pay, forward pay, and reasonable
accommodation. Compensatory damages may be recoverable for actual monetary losses, future money
losses, mental anguish, and inconvenience. Where an intentional act is alleged and an employer acted
with malice or reckless indifference, the applicant or employee also may be entitled to an award of
punitive damages.7 The term “punitive” is derived from “punish,” which is the objective when a wrongdoer
engages in willful or deliberate behavior that injures another person.
In general, an at-will employee may be fired with cause, without cause, or for no reason at all — as long as
public policy rights or other legal rights of the employee are not violated. This holds true even in California,
where the California Supreme Court held in 2006 in Dore v. Arnold Worldwide8 that an employer who
provided the employee notice of an at-will relationship at the time the employee was hired — in specific,
clear, and unambiguous language — could terminate an at-will employee at any time, with or without cause.
Note: California is singled out here because its courts are generally believed to be more favorably
disposed to employee rights than the courts of many other states. For this reason, California state court
employment litigation often can signal potential future employment law developments in other states.
7 Associate Justice Stevens in Cooper Indus. v. Leatherman Tool, 532 U.S. 424,432 (2001): “Although compensatory
damages and punitive damages are typically awarded at the same time by the same decision maker, they serve
distinct purposes. The former are intended to redress the concrete loss that the plaintiff has suffered by reason of
the defendant’s wrongful conduct. The latter, which have been described as ‘quasi-criminal,’ operate as ‘private
fines’ intended to punish the defendant and to deter future wrongdoing. A jury’s assessment of the extent of a
plaintiff’s injuries is essentially a factual determination, whereas its imposition of punitive damages is an expression
of its moral condemnation.”
8 “The Court of Appeal below agreed with Dore that AWI’s letter, signed by Dore, was not clear and unambiguous
with respect to cause for termination. Notwithstanding the letter's statement that “your employment with Arnold
Communications, Inc. is at will,” the court reasoned, by going on to define the term “at will” to mean that AWI had
the right to terminate Dore’s employment “at any time,” AWI impliedly relinquished the right to terminate Dore
without cause. We disagree.” 46 Cal Rptr. 668, 671 (2006).
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Protected classes
When an applicant or employee is a member of a protected class, the applicant or employee will have
rights under federal or state laws, or both, which are intended to protect the applicant or employee from
unlawful discrimination or harassment based on membership in the class.9 Federal and some state laws
broadly define protected classes as encompassing the following:
National origin or ancestry
Physical or mental disability, or medical condition
Race or color
Religion or creed
Family or marital status
Age
Sex or gender
Genetic information
Veteran’s status
Sexual orientation
When (a) an applicant is a member of a protected class and is denied employment, or (b) a current
employee who is a member of a protected class is terminated, denied promotion, suffers a decrease in
compensation or benefits, or is demoted, the applicant or employee may file a complaint with the EEOC
or equivalent state agencies seeking damages for denial of employment or other adverse actions. In
general, an applicant denied employment must show that he or she was at least as well qualified as the
least qualified successful applicant who is not a member of the protected class.
A well-run employer will know that dealing with members of a protected class requires the employer to
exercise “special care.” This does not mean that the employer cannot fire or take adverse employment
action against members of a protected class, but doing so can involve an increased risk of claims or
allegations that the employer may encounter — especially if the employer or supervisor mishandles the
situation.
Knowledge check
1. Willful or deliberate acts of an employer may entitle a former employee to recover
a. Statutory damages.
b. Compensatory damages.
c. Lost pay.
d. Punitive damages.
9 Here, public policy is expressed in enacted statutes as opposed to court decisions (judge-made law, if one will).
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2. A member of a protected class is protected from
a. Employer discrimination only
b. Employer discrimination and harassment.
c. Employer discrimination and retaliation.
d. Adverse employment action.
Current trends in employment law claims
The U.S. EEOC issued a press release on January 25, 2018, that included fiscal 2016 data on the
numbers and types of discrimination charges filed by employees of private employers as well as federal,
state, and local governments in 2017. Information for 2000, 2005, and 2010 is presented for purposes of
comparison.10 Note in particular the dramatic increase in all retaliation claims over the periods presented
and the continuing increases in disability claims.
Exhibit 1-1
10 Adapted from EEOC, www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges.cfm.
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