We Have a Lot to Celebrate! Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers and Best Law Firms in America® 2025 Edition!!!
We have a lot to Celebrate! Fishel Downey has once again been distinguished as a Best Law Firm in the 15th edition of Best Law Firms® [...]
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Public Sector Political Activity
While the First Amendment provides significant protections against the government limiting its citizens’ freedom of speech, these protections become much more constrained and complicated when the government is the citizen’s employer. For public sector employees, their freedom of speech is heavily regulated when it comes to partisan political speech and activity. As the election season [...]
EEOC New Guidance
Workplace discrimination claims are on the rise. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports a 50% increase in employment discrimination lawsuits between fiscal years 2022 and 2023 alone. Now more than ever employers should be aware of what conduct constitutes discrimination, how to manage complaints of discrimination, and how to proactively prevent discrimination from [...]
Major Changes to FLSA Overtime Requirements
Public and private employers alike should be aware of the recent changes to employee overtime laws. On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule (“the Final Rule”) entitled Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees which became effective on July 1, 2024. [...]
Assessing New Protections for Pregnant Workers
Being pregnant can be a stressful experience for many workers, especially in the workplace. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) seeks to combat pregnant workers' overwhelming and isolating feelings through expanding the protections and accommodations available to pregnant workers. The PWFA does not replace any of the federal, state, or local laws that are more [...]
The CROWN Act- Expanding Discrimination Laws
Discrimination claims are on the rise for public and private employers alike. One new area of discrimination employers should be aware of arises from hairstyles. The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (“The CROWN Act”) was first passed in California in 2019 and is a law that aims to prohibit race-based [...]
Facing Off with First Amendment Auditors
First Amendment Auditors have become increasingly popular in recent years, but what or who is a First Amendment Auditor? These individuals are usually activists or citizen journalists who target government facilities, employees, or events. Auditors will typically record the encounters and broadcast them on YouTube or other social media platforms and ask questions or demand [...]
New Changes to Ohio’s Public Records Law
Several notable changes to Ohio's Public Records law went into effect last year. As a refresher, Ohio law mandates the disclosure of public records unless an exception applies. The Public Records Act includes numerous exceptions to the definitions of public records which permits officials to redact records, or in some instances withhold records entirely. The [...]
Overboard on Overtime
Are your employees going overboard on overtime? That was the case in Baton Rouge where the City discovered one employee claimed over 2,400 hours in overtime in one year. The employee, an emergency medical service supervisor, was one of many employees discovered to have claimed over 2,000 hours of overtime. The employee’s excessive overtime was [...]