Arlene K. Kline

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Arlene Kline is a veteran litigator defending labor and employment matters on behalf of banking, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, media, distribution, transportation, software and non-profit sector clients. Clients value her comprehensive practice, including policy development, compliance, audits, litigation and appeals. A significant aspect of her practice also includes counseling on compliance with the public accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (including its application to websites and mobile apps), and avoidance of such claims.

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Overbroad and Overstepping? FTC Moves to Ban Non-Competes Nationwide

Only days into the new year, the Federal Trade Commission announced a controversial proposed rule that would potentially ban all non-compete agreements nationwide. While the proposed rule would not take effect until the end of a 60-day public comment period, at the earliest, it has left employers wondering how they can protect their businesses should … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare but Blocks Vaccine-Or-Test Rule for Large Private Businesses

On January 13, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court prevented President Biden’s vaccination or testing mandate for large employers (issued as an OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)) from being enforced.  The Court allowed the vaccine mandate for certain healthcare workers issued by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to go into effect nationwide, initially … Continue Reading

DOL Changes Rules for Fluctuating Workweek and Retail Establishments

Employers who use the fluctuating workweek method of compensating employees and those who rely on the retail establishment exemption from overtime are both in for some changes. Recently the Department of Labor (DOL) passed two key regulations altering the application of certain rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applicable to each. First, the … Continue Reading

Is it Time to Prioritize Making Websites and Mobile Apps Accessible?

Companies should take steps to ensure that their websites and mobile apps are accessible to persons who are blind or vision impaired, based on the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to review an appellate court decision that allowed a blind man to sue a national pizza chain under the Americans with Disabilities Act.… Continue Reading

Non-Compete and Trade Secret Provisions: Protecting Your Company and Assets

Now more than ever, employers must take active steps to protect their confidential information and trade secrets from the prying eyes of competitors. In our digital age, trade secrets can be misappropriated in an instant, and without the proper agreements in place, any business can be vulnerable. Recent major court cases involving companies such as … Continue Reading

DOL Issues New FMLA Forms

The Department of Labor has finally issued new FMLA forms. These forms (WH-380-E, WH-380-F, WH-381, WH-382, WH-384, WH-385, and WH-385V) may be accessed from the DOL’s website. The prior FMLA forms expired well before the new ones were issued this past weekend. The new forms contain the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) disclosure language that … Continue Reading

Are Websites Places of Public Accommodation?

By now, most lawyers are aware that Title III of the ADA applies to activities of an entity whose operations “affect commerce” and is a “place of public accommodation” as defined by statute.  42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(A)-(L).  Commerce is defined as “travel, trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication (A) among the several States; (B) between any foreign … Continue Reading

Irregular Attendance May Render An Employee With A Disability “Unqualified”

In a recent case, Daniel Mecca v. Florida Health Services Center, Inc., Case No. 8:12-cv-02561 (M.D. Fla. February 3, 2014), a federal court in Florida held that where regular attendance is an “essential function” of a position and leave will not allow regular attendance now or in the immediate future, leave is not a “reasonable … Continue Reading

OFCCP’S New Rules Expand Affirmative Action Requirements

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued new rules that  increase affirmative action requirements of direct federal contractors and subcontractors. The OFCCP issued its final rules in the Federal Register on Sept. 24th.  The OFCCP announced that the rules, which affect hiring and retention practices for veterans and persons with disabilities, would … Continue Reading

Supreme Court’s Refusal to Hear Appeal Suggests Companies Must Transfer Newly Disabled Employees to Open Positions as a Reasonable Accommodation, Regardless of Whether There Are More Qualified Candidates

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review EEOC v. United Airlines, Inc., a Seventh Circuit decision (which overruled its prior precedent) holding that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) obligates employers to reassign newly disabled workers to open job positions, thus reviving a class action the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission filed against … Continue Reading

Latest Developments Under the FMLA

There is some very interesting news in the world of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)!  The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law enacted by President Clinton that entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the … Continue Reading

Given Our Aging Jury Population, How Do You Counter Age Discrimination Claims Brought by Employees Over 50 Years of Age?

Arlene Kline recently spoke on the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) at the American Conference Institute’s 3rd Annual Forum on Defending and Managing Employment Discrimination Litigation in New York City.  The most common question asked of her was what application the U.S. Supreme Court’s Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U.S. 167 (2009) … Continue Reading
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