Brittany Buccellato

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Brittany Buccellato concentrates her practice on labor and employment litigation. She represents employers in matters involving discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful discharge, wage and hour violations, breach of contract, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practices. Brittany also provides advice and counseling on employment matters.

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When Can An Employer Require Fitness-For-Duty Exams?

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Employment Discrimination Harassment & Retaliation, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, Medical & Other Leaves
Employers with fitness-for-duty exam requirements for employees returning from medical leaves should take note of a recent decision by a federal court in Massachusetts. In that case, the Court considered whether requiring every employee returning from an extended leave to undergo a fitness-for-duty exam violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).… Continue Reading

Avoid Possible Tragedy In The Future By Preparing For Disasters And Emergencies Now

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employee Handbooks & Policies, Workplace Safety & OSHA
The series of tornadoes that ripped through parts of the county last month serves as a potent reminder to employers: having a disaster plan and preparedness training is important. In Illinois, six warehouse workers were killed when the roof collapsed at a distribution center during a tornado and workers from neighboring distribution facilities complained that they … Continue Reading

No Vaccination, No Service For Indoor Dining, Entertainment, and Fitness in NYC

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Workplace Safety & OSHA
Enforcement begins soon of New York City’s new executive order requiring certain indoor establishments to verify that staff and patrons have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before entering the establishment. The executive order took effect on August 17 and inspectors will begin enforcing its requirements until September 13. This mandate is … Continue Reading

Growing State and Local Equal Pay Protections

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employee Benefits, Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Employment Discrimination Harassment & Retaliation, Wage & Hour
Pay equity will be a focus of the Biden Administration, as was made clear in the White House Proclamation on Equal Pay Day last week. But states are not waiting on the federal government to act; several are moving forward with pay transparency and equity laws. California is the first state to enact its own … Continue Reading

Five New States Approve Marijuana Use, Leaving Employers Dazed and Confused

By Brittany Buccellato and Christopher S. Duke on Posted in Employee Handbooks & Policies, Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention
Voters around the country recently approved a number of ballot initiatives legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational and/or medical purposes, further complicating the patchwork of existing marijuana laws found throughout the country. The confusion is compounded by the fact that marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, … Continue Reading

State and Local Paid Family and Sick Leave Laws Continue to Sweep the Country

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Medical & Other Leaves, Wage & Hour
Even before COVID-19 hit the United States, state and local governments were busy passing paid family and/or sick leave laws. Unlike the federal, state, and local leave laws which were enacted in response to COVID-19, these laws do not expire and have a broader application. In 2019, paid family leave laws in Washington, D.C. and … Continue Reading

Does the ADA Protect Employees from Discrimination Based on Potential Future Disabilities?

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Disability, Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Employment Discrimination Harassment & Retaliation, Employment Litigation
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not protect employees from discrimination based on potential future disabilities, according to a recent ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. However, employers in other parts of the country should be more cautious. For example, federal courts in Illinois reached the … Continue Reading

Filing Bankruptcy May Not Stop EEOC Suits

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention
Hoping that declaring bankruptcy will stay a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit against you brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) on behalf of a current or former employee? Think again. On October 11, 2018, a Texas federal court in EEOC v. Tim Shepherd, M.D. ruled that filing for bankruptcy did not automatically … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Slams Public Sector Union Rights

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employment Litigation, Labor Relations
The Supreme Court has declared that mandatory union dues for public employees are unlawful, overturning 40 years of precedent. In Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the Court ruled that requiring public sector employees who are not union members to pay “fair share” or “agency fees” to unions that represent them … Continue Reading

Is The EEOC’s Background Check Guidance In Jeopardy?

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Employment Litigation
Employers that have been frustrated with the EEOC’s position on how they can use arrest and conviction records, take note: earlier this month, a federal court in Texas enjoined the EEOC and the Attorney General of the United States from enforcing the EEOC’s “Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment … Continue Reading

Risks And Costs Of Using PTO Buckets In A Paid Leave Statute World

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employee Handbooks & Policies, Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Medical & Other Leaves
With a growing number of states and cities implementing paid sick leave statutes, employers with PTO policies may be wondering whether it still makes sense to bundle different types of time off – sick, personal, and vacation – into a single bucket. The good news is that employers generally do not have to change their … Continue Reading

New, Even Broader, Joint Employer Test Adopted

By Brittany Buccellato on Posted in Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention, Labor Relations, Wage & Hour
Employers may think the concept of joint employer being pushed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is overly broad, but a recent decision by a federal appellate court in Richmond, Virginia adopts the most expansive definition yet. Last month the federal appellate court pronounced that two entities or individuals should be considered a joint … Continue Reading
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