The changing landscape of the workforce has resulted in new twists on old issues in employment law. In particular, the increase in remote work has created the need for many employers to navigate the patchwork of anti-discrimination and labor laws that exist in the varying states their employees live in.
Additionally, changes that began during the pandemic continue into the “new normal.” Employees battle with employers for control over healthcare and other decisions. EPLI coverage can help employers mitigate the risks involved with changing workplace employment issues.
What Are Some Employment Law Issues?
Some of the issues employers should be aware of to avoid lawsuits in 2022 are:
- Increase in harassment claims involving remote workers
- Challenges applying varying state anti-discrimination laws to remote workers in different states
- Wage and hour class action suits
- Battles over-vaccination mandates
Harassment and Discrimination Claims
More than 4.7 million Americans work remotely at least half the time. Remote work options continue to be popular with employees. However, harassment suits that involve employees who have never interacted in person are on the rise.
In addition to the legal challenges that confronting employee harassment claims poses, there are also issues with companies that employ remote workers in different states not adhering to the legal requirements of the states where employees live. For example, New York and California have requirements for respectful workplace training that most other states do not. Companies that fail to comply could face penalties and fines. Companies face similar challenges with varying state requirements for anti-discrimination.
Wage and Hour Suits
2021 saw a surge in class action suits involving companies’ failure to audit timekeeping systems and payroll practices that improperly calculated employees’ rates of pay. In particular, suits have increased that involved three areas of contention:
- Off-the-clock work
- Failure to incorporate bonuses and other payments into employees’ regular rates of pay for overtime purposes
- Misclassification of employees as exempt from receiving overtime
Employers have attempted to reduce the number of class action suits by utilizing arbitration agreements.
Vaccination Mandates
Attempts by the federal government and private employers to impose vaccination mandates on employees have led to battles over employer and government rights to issue healthcare-related mandates and issues involving providing reasonable accommodations for employees requesting exemptions due to disability or religious belief.
Federal regulators have stressed that employers must provide reasonable accommodations for disability or sincerely held religious beliefs. Employers must also consider employees with temporary medical conditions that state laws may afford protection. Pregnancy has also been a point of contention because it is not classified as a medical exemption, but pregnant people may not be comfortable with mandated vaccines.
Religious exemptions are particularly tricky because of the difficulty involved with distinguishing legitimate religious beliefs from attempts to game the system. The key for employers is to consistently follow whatever policy they put in place.
The challenges presented by remote work and shifting employee attitudes make EPLI increasingly valuable for employers who could find themselves facing a growing number of employment-related lawsuits.
About Haughn & Associates
Founded by Michael Haughn in 1986, Haughn & Associates is a full-service, family-owned, independent insurance agency based out of Dublin, Ohio. H&A strives to provide the best possible price and unique insurance solutions across a myriad of industries, including construction, IT, Habitation & Commercial Property, Agriculture, and Engineering. Devoted to providing the best of business insurance, life and disability insurance, personal insurance, employee benefits, and bonds, H&A is proof that success lies in long-standing client relations and satisfaction. To learn more about how H&A can be of service to you, contact us at (877) 802-2278.
