Blog and News

Media outlets across the U.S. have declared Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to be the winners of their respective Georgia Senate races. This was a huge win for Democrats, giving them control of the Senate once Kamala Harris—who holds tie-breaking power as vice president—is sworn in. 

Jasmine Younge was the deputy chief of staff to Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. and considered his “go-to” person in the office. Suddenly, after the announcement of her pregnancy, DA Howard shut Ms. Younge out of meetings, ignored her, and ultimately terminated her. Younge, ...

Recently, a member of the Georgia Army National Guard reserve – Araceli Perez – claimed that she was wrongfully terminated by Onin Staffing LLC, and that the termination was done in retaliation to her absence for military duty. Perez's counsel is Zachary Panter, a lawyer at Barrett & Farahany, a...

Barrett & Farahany congratulates Catherine Gavrilidis and Zachary Panter for passing the Georgia bar exam! Despite a month-long delay and a change from in-person to virtual testing due to COVID-19, Cat and Zack persevered. Catherine, who graduated magna cum laude from Georgia State University Co...

Last year, nearly 76% of companies planned to hold holiday parties. This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, only about 23% of companies are planning a year-end celebration, and 74% of those will be virtual events, according to a survey done by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This big drop wil...

Given the tough fiscal year for many companies, employers may be looking to cut costs and balance the books. One way they'll do this is by letting go of employees, even on the cusp of the holiday season.  Todd Stanton – principal of Stanton Law – and Amanda Farahany – managing partner at Barrett...

Barrett & Farahany has been named to US News - Best Lawyers' prestigious 2021 listing of top law firms. Barrett & Farahany's labor and employment litigation practice received a Tier 1 ranking, and the firm's employment law practice for individuals was awarded Tier 2 in the region. US News ranks f...

Did you know that your employer can fire you for virtually any reason? Most employees who are terminated immediately seek answers as to why they are being fired. However, since Georgia is an at-will employment state, employers do not need to provide a reason. And even if they do provide a reason, most any reason is sufficient, as long as it’s not a reason prohibited by law.

It's been a very interesting year for the job market in Georgia, and you may find yourself considering a change in employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, this is a necessary change as their companies downsize. For others, it's a chance to make a move they've been considering for some ...

The social temperature in our city and country is high and flowing into the workplace, be it through discussion or attire with a political logo, wrote Amanda Farahany, managing partner of Barrett & Farahany, and Todd Stanton, principal of Stanton Law, in an article published in the September 9, 2...

In August, President Trump issued an Executive Order that offers many American taxpayers a financial "hamburger" in the form of a payroll tax holiday. However, despite guidance from the Treasury Department, it remains unclear when Tuesday will come for them and how they will need to pay up when it does.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued an order that temporarily pauses (or stays) evictions until the end of 2020.

Amanda Farahany, managing partner at Barrett & Farahany, and Christine Green of Stanton Law have co-authored "In Bostock's Wake, Look for More Diversity Training, Sex Bias Cases and LGBT Workers Living Openly."

Amanda Farahany was recently interviewed for an Agenda article entitled "How Companies Contend With Discrimination Charges."

One of the questions we're asked most frequently lately is whether small employers can just decide to "opt out" of their obligations to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Not really.

Now that school has resumed for fall, working parents are again having to juggle work, childcare, and schooling. We want to be sure your workplace rights aren't another source of confusion, so in this blog we revisit the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA) and boil down some key questions and answers the Department of Labor recently clarified about Extended Family Medical Leave (EFML) related to child care and schooling.

American Guardsmen and Reservists have been called to duty to help with a variety of functions related to stemming the tide of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The duties vary by location, but many of you have probably seen military personnel assisting with drive-through COVID-19 testing sites.

Grace Starling wrote the article “Returning to Work & School During a Pandemic: What Should You Do?” for the August 21 edition of Women’s Business Daily.

Two attorneys from the Barrett & Farahany have been named to the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The Atlanta attorneys are Amanda Farahany, the firm’s managing partner, and V. Severin Roberts, a partner.

On August 17, a federal judge in New York ordered the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) not to interfere with anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ patients by pushing forward with rules that the Trump administration wanted to take effect today. The jurist said that the new HHS rules are likely in conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision that federal law bans workplace bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In employee-friendly California, a Superior Court judge ruled that drivers for Uber and Lyft should be reclassified as employees rather than independent contractors. This is important for workers because employees receive job protections that are not granted to independent contractors. These protections include sick leave, wage minimums, workers compensation eligibility, unemployment eligibility, and other job protections.

Every business doesn’t deserve a big fuzzy blanket of protection. We want to encourage continued safety measures by businesses, not have them toss caution to the wind as the Georgia law does and the proposed federal legislation would do.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act that protects businesses and healthcare providers from civil liability for coronavirus-related injury and wrongful death lawsuits.

Barrett & Farahany attorney Adian Miller was a guest on the podcast “The Legalist,” which is produced by Lee Davis Law, LLC. The August 5 program featured a discussion about what employees should do if they think their work could be unsafe because of COVID-19.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate are pushing a bill called “The Safe to Work Act” that really should be called “Less Safe to Work Act.” The bill would shield businesses and healthcare providers from coronavirus-related injury lawsuits. It would introduce significant hurdles for employees, customers and patients who want to sue for corona-related negligence.