The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced on May 4, 2023 a planned end to the COVID-19 remote I-9 flexibility. The flexibility ends on July 31 and prior pandemic I-9s must be remediated by Aug 30, 2023. Therefore, employers should act quickly to review and remediate I-9s that were verified remotely in the past three years.

Continue Reading ICE Announces July and August Deadlines for Employers: Preparing for the DHS Planned Sunset of the COVID Pandemic Remote I-9 Verification Accommodations

Total Planetary Alignment. Halley’s Comet. A Full Solar Eclipse. Texas Enacting Heightened Employee Protections Beyond Federal Law.

What are “things that rarely happen in your lifetime?”

In Texas, the general rule is that employee-facing legal protections overlap with—and extend no further than—its federal counterparts. But newly-enacted state legislation concerning workplace sexual harassment has bucked that trend.

Continue Reading New Texas Law Expands Employee Rights and Employer Liability for Sexual Harassment Claims

Earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the notion that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or transgender status. More than a standard-issue opinion, however, the Fifth Circuit’s holding was a laser-focused rebuke of a widely-publicized district court opinion which held Title VII’s prohibition on sex-discrimination applies to transgender individuals.
Continue Reading Title VII Reversal: Fifth Circuit Holds No Transgender Protections Under Civil Rights Statute