2025 Eastman & Smith Employment Law Update-2025 Eastman & Smith Employment Law Update

Video Transcription

Video Summary

This video was a 2025 employment law update covering three main areas: hot topics in employment law, multi-state workplace compliance, and internal investigations of rogue employees.<br /><br />The first segment reviewed major recent cases and agency developments. Key Supreme Court decisions included Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, which eliminated the Sixth Circuit’s heightened “reverse discrimination” standard, and Stanley v. City of Sanford, which clarified that ADA claims require the employee to be disabled while still employed. Other cases addressed hostile work environments involving non-employees, the interactive process under the ADA, and expanding protections for religious accommodation after Groff v. DeJoy raised the undue hardship standard. The presentation also covered the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, noting that it requires prompt accommodation of pregnancy-related limitations and is likely to remain a major enforcement priority. Wage-and-hour updates included a lighter burden of proof for FLSA exemptions and uncertainty around the withdrawn 2024 overtime rule. The NLRB and EEOC were described as shifting with the current administration, with the EEOC focusing heavily on religion and DEI issues.<br /><br />The second segment explained how remote work has made multi-state compliance essential. It discussed the patchwork of state leave laws, non-compete restrictions, pay transparency laws, salary history bans, and marijuana/drug testing rules. Ohio remains relatively employer-friendly, but local ordinances and out-of-state remote employees can trigger other state laws.<br /><br />The final segment, from Carl Schneider, focused on how companies should conduct internal investigations: preserve evidence immediately, define the scope, decide whether to use in-house or outside counsel, Upjohn witness interviews properly, and document findings and recommendations carefully to preserve privilege and reduce risk.

Keywords

employment law

2025 update

Supreme Court decisions

ADA claims

reverse discrimination

pregnant workers fairness act

FLSA exemptions

EEOC enforcement

multi-state compliance

remote work

leave laws

non-compete restrictions

pay transparency

internal investigations

Upjohn interviews