In what is seen as a big win for LGBT employment rights, the Supreme Court has ruled that sexual orientation discrimination is a violation of Title VII of the civil rights act which protects employees from sex discrimination. “An employer that fires or otherwise discriminates against an employee merely for being gay...

Iowa lawmakers have passed legislation which largely shields businesses and health care providers from lawsuits related to the Corona virus.

Although the bill passed in a 31-18 vote, groups representing Iowa meat packing plants and nursing homes, both hit hard by Corona virus infections, argue the new law will...

Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Covid-19 Illness?

With many employees returning to work during the pandemic, some wonder if they will be covered by workers’ compensation insurance if they get Covid-19 while on the job. Policy is still evolving in this regard, but as it stands, coverage exists in many...

Unfortunately, last week a motorcycle accident resulted in a fatality at SW 7th and MLK parkway in Des Moines. According to police, a teen driver’s failure to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic while turning at the intersection contributed to the crash.

With nice weather returning to...

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers have the responsibility to provide their employees a safe and healthful workplace that is free from serious recognized hazards. A big part of protecting workers involves workplace controls including:

eliminating or substituting hazards

Family law attorneys across Iowa have never seen an event that has been as disruptive to child custody agreements as Covid-19. Reluctance to allow agreed upon visitation out of fear that children will become infected has led some parents to defy child custody orders or seek emergency orders when they feel the...

Most families and children are home during the temporary shutdown, but there are still a number of employees who provide essential services exempted from the social isolation requirements including USPS mail carriers and also private delivery companies such as Fed Ex and UPS who all continue to deliver mail and packages to...

A new bill signed by President Trump changes some of the provisions of the Family Medical and Leave Act (FMLA) in response to the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the nation. In a nutshell, FMLA is amended (Families First Coronavirus Response Act) to allow U.S. workers employed by private entities or individuals...

While over 75 percent of those surveyed say that the #MeToo movement has had a positive impact on their employment, 44% of men and 36% of women say that the #MeToo movement has damaged trust between the HR department and employees.

For thirty years, HR has been the department...

Two Des Moines men lost their lives after another driver struck their vehicle at an intersection on SW 9th – a street that has seen many car and pedestrian accidents. Police believe that excessive speed was a significant contributing factor in the fatal accident – the driver of the vehicle that crashed...