News + Insights

Ward and Smith Attorneys Featured in NC Bar Journal for Leadership in Employment Law Specialization

Three Ward and Smith attorneys—Grant Osborne, Will Oden, and Ken Gray—were featured in the Summer 2025 issue of the North Carolina State Bar Journal for their instrumental roles in creating North Carolina&rsquo…

Media Mention: Ward and Smith Prevails in Wage Dispute Covered by Law360

Ward and Smith recently helped secure a decisive legal victory for Cleveland County in a long-running wage dispute brought by a collective of emergency medical services (EMS) workers. The case, Conner v. Cleveland County …

Part 1 in Heatwaves of Drama: A Case Study in "What Not To Do" for Southeastern HR Professionals

Written By Avery J. Locklear and Grant B. Osborne

In the first installment of our two-part series covering Ward and Smith’s 2024 Employment Law Symposium, three Ward and Smith attorneys illuminated a variety of Human Resources issues by placing a spotlight on a fict…

Grant Osborne, Will Oden, and Ken Gray Among North Carolina's First Board Certified Specialists in Employment Law

Effective December 6, 2024, Ward and Smith attorneys Grant Osborne, Will Oden, and Ken Gray are now recognized by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as three of only the first twelve ever boa…

Ward and Smith Attorneys Lead in the Establishment of a New Board-Certified Specialty in Employment Law

Ward and Smith attorneys Grant Osborne and Will Oden led a committee petitioning the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization, the North Carolina State Bar, and ultimately, the North Carolina Supreme Court to create a …

"You Can't Say That!" Or Can You? Words of Protest on Company-Provided Apparel Under the National Labor Relations Act

Written By Grant B. Osborne and Genesis E. Torres

Few governmental agencies can require private employers to permit their employees to say things on the job, in the presence of customers and co-workers, that employers don’t like. But the National Labor Relations Boa…

Amy Fitzhugh and Grant Osborne: Key Members of the 2023 Legislative Review CLE Program Planning Committee

Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 9, to experience the 2023 Legislative Review CLE Program. This one-day event has been thoughtfully curated by attorneys Amy Fitzhugh and Grant Osborne, who were part of the …

Navigating the Latest Employment Law Developments: What Employers Need to Know

Written By Will Oden and Grant B. Osborne

Five Ward and Smith attorneys offered timely updates on religious accommodations, professional licensing, pregnancy laws, remote work, and independent contractor rules during the firm’s recent annual Employment Law S…

The Buck Stops with You: Artificial Intelligence, Employment, & Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Written By Grant B. Osborne and Mayukh Sircar, CIPP/US

"I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do." – HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace Computer…

Grant Osborne Appointed to the North Carolina Bar Association Government & Public Sector Section Council

Attorney Grant Osborne has been honored with a seat on the North Carolina Bar Association Government & Public Sector Section Council. He will serve a three-year term, joining approximately 15 other council member…

SCOTUS Raises Bar for Employers Confronted by Employees' Requests for Religious Accommodation

Written By Avery J. Locklear and Grant B. Osborne

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion issued yesterday in Groff vs. Dejoy, changed the standard that most employers must consider and apply when deciding how to deal with – and when they may lawfully reject …

Attorneys, Paralegals Step Up to Make a Difference: Ward And Smith's 2022 Pro Bono Report

At Ward and Smith, we are committed to providing high-quality legal services not only for our clients, but also to those in our communities needing pro bono legal assistance.  Our firm's pro bono efforts in 2022 refl…

Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Agreements with Non-Supervisory Employees: New Limitations from the NLRB

Written By S. McKinley Gray, III and Grant B. Osborne

The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") has recently declared a limit on parties' contractual rights that many private employers (and, for that matter many, of their employees) may find distressing. Employers and empl…

35 Ward and Smith Attorneys Recognized in Business North Carolina's 2023 Legal Elite

Ward and Smith celebrates a remarkable accomplishment as 31 of our attorneys have been recognized in Business North Carolina's Legal Elite for 2023. Outstanding among this group was one of the highest ranked attorneys cho…

Media Mention: Law360 Interviews Attorneys About New Employment Law Specialty Petition

Law360, a legal-based news service, recently interviewed labor and employment attorneys Will Oden and Grant Osborne about their efforts to create a new board-certified specialty in employment law.  Will and Grant&nbs…

An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Ward and Smith Attorneys Advocate for Establishment of North Carolina Employment Law Specialization

Ward and Smith attorneys Grant Osborne and Will Oden, who have more than 50 years of combined experience in the practice of  Employment Law, are petitioning the North Carolina State Bar to establish a Board-Certified …

Lawful Use of Cannabis in North Carolina's Workplace

Written By Grant B. Osborne and Hayley R. Wells

The employer/employee relationship is among the most regulated. There are many (some argue too many) federal and state laws that govern how employers may and may not treat applicants and employees.  Their purpose, ge…

Labor Unions and "Protected Concerted Activity:" What Private Employers – Unionized or NOT – Need to Know in 2022

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Employers, it seems, can't catch a break these days. They build businesses. They take risks. They face increasing supply costs, supply-chain problems, interest rates, and staff-shortages. Yet they create jobs and provide …

“On-Call” Time in Healthcare Settings: What Is It? When Do You Have To Pay for It? What if You Get It Wrong?

Written By Grant B. Osborne

You may understandably think that everything about this subject has been resolved long ago. But you would be wrong if you do.    The federal law that undergirds most of what you think you know about how employer…

Déjà Vu: Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Dissolves Stay of OSHA COVID-19 "Emergency Temporary Standard" for Large Employers

Written By Chris S. Edwards, S. McKinley Gray, III, and Grant B. Osborne

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. observed that democracy is messy and hard. The serial legal battle over COVID-19 and what the federal government can and should make employers do about it illustrates the point. Late on Friday, Dec…

Grant Osborne Named NCBA Labor & Employment Law Section Communications Committee Co-Chair

Grant Osborne will serve as Co-Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association's (NCBA) Labor & Employment Law Section Communications Committee. In his new position, Grant will be responsible for maintaining and updating …

Once More, with Feeling: Fifth Circuit Re-Affirms Stay of ETS and Then Loses Jurisdiction of the Case

Written By Chris S. Edwards, S. McKinley Gray, III, and Grant B. Osborne

Litigation usually proceeds at a maddeningly glacial pace. Not this time. The Past The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's ("OSHA") well-publicized and controversial Emergency Temporary Standard ("ETS") was i…

U.S. Court of Appeals Puts Brakes on OSHA COVID-19 "Emergency Temporary Standard"

Written By S. McKinley Gray, III and Grant B. Osborne

It's a case of "Get Ready, Get Set … Wait!" On Saturday, November 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in response to a lawsuit filed last Friday by various plaintiffs including the Attorney General …

OSHA Issues Long-Awaited COVID-19 "Emergency Temporary Standard"

Written By S. McKinley Gray, III and Grant B. Osborne

Good (and Not So Good) Things Come to Those Who Wait Yesterday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") of the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL"), at long last, issued an "Interim final rule" regarding th…

To North Carolina Governmental Employers: Heads-Up – "Unreasonable Employee Discipline" Can Now Get You Sued

Written By Grant B. Osborne

No good deed goes unpunished. Little did City of Durham Police Sergeant Michael Mole' know, in his first crack at negotiating on his own the surrender of an armed and barricaded suspect, that he would be fired because he …

"Emergency Use" No More: FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine

Written By Grant B. Osborne

There was a time in which employers and employees weren’t vexed with viruses, vaccines, and their respective duties and rights. That seems like a long time ago, but it wasn’t. The World Health Organization dec…

Media Mention: Grant Osborne Featured in Business North Carolina

Employment attorney Grant Osborne addressed employer-mandated vaccines in the June issue of Business North Carolina.  The article, "'The JAB, or Your JOB': Mandatory Vaccinations in the Private Workplace," details em…

"The JAB, or Your JOB": Mandatory Vaccinations in the Private Workplace

Written By Grant B. Osborne

We are all tired of the slowly-abating but persistent pandemic. And more than ready to get back to "normal." But employers' efforts to encourage or require employees to return to work present many challenges, such as thos…

Employers: Here's Your "Quick Hitter Guide" for the American Rescue Plan Act's Impact on COBRA and FFCRA

Written By Grant B. Osborne and Devon D. Williams

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), signed into law on March 11, 2021, includes a whole host of requirements and provisions impacting private employers, their employees, and the benefit plans they offer. Here is …

So Much for "9 to 5": Employers' Consideration of Employees' and Applicants' Conduct Outside of Work

Written By Grant B. Osborne

"And the sign said, 'Long-haired freaky people … need not apply.'"  – Signs, Five Man Electrical Band, Good-byes and Butterflies (1970) Arbitrary judgments are as old as humanity itself. Law evolved in p…

13 Ward and Smith Attorneys Listed in Business North Carolina's 2021 "Legal Elite"

Business North Carolina has recognized 13 Ward and Smith attorneys as 2021 "Legal Elites." Of the thousands of lawyers practicing across the state, only about 4% achieve this recognition. Since 2002, the magazine ha…

COVID-19 Paid Leave in 2021: The Impact of New Federal Relief Bill on Employers

Written By Emily G. Massey, Grant B. Osborne, and Hayley R. Wells

"The future ain't what it used to be."  – Yogi Berra Governing can be a fickle affair. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 ("FFCRA"), the first paid-leave of absence law to be enacted on a nati…

We’ll See How "Temporary": U.S. Department of Labor Issues New Temporary Rule Interpreting Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020

Written By Grant B. Osborne and Hayley R. Wells

"Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." - Milton Friedman The federal "Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020" ("FFCRA" or the "Act") became law on March 18, 2020. It was enacted into la…

Political Speech in the Workplace (And What – If Anything – To Do About It)

Written By Justin T. Hill and Grant B. Osborne

Politics could hardly be more conspicuous these days. A monumental presidential election looms on the horizon, and it seems that everyone has an opinion. Many who do have jobs and bring those opinions into the workplace. …

Labor Union Plants a Big Flag in Western North Carolina

Written By Grant B. Osborne

“Change is the only constant in life.” - Heraclitus (535 to 475 B.C.E.) Registered nurses at HCA Healthcare's Mission Health system in Asheville have recently voted to be represented by the National Nurses Org…

"Don't Tread on Me": Customers' Religious Objections to Mandated Use of Face Masks in the Era of COVID-19

Written By Grant B. Osborne

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged businesses and employers in ways that few thought possible just six months ago. Untold millions have lost jobs, and vast numbers of businesses have been forced to close in an attempt t…

Didn’t See That Coming: Unexpected Results of FFCRA Paid-Leave "Temporary" Regulations

Written By X. Lightfoot, Emily G. Massey, and Grant B. Osborne

The world continues to combat the devastating COVID-19 global pandemic.  Many businesses have been forced to lay off and/or furlough untold numbers of valued employees. Still, many employers are able to continue opera…

FFCRA Health Care Providers Exemption: New Guidance Published

Written By Emily G. Massey and Grant B. Osborne

We previously posted that the "health care provider" exemption from the obligation to provide "paid sick time" and paid "public health emergency leave" under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 ("FFCRA") wa…

Are Health Care Providers Exempt from the FFCRA Paid Leave Requirements?

Written By Emily G. Massey and Grant B. Osborne

And who is a "health care provider?" These are questions we have grappled with since the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act ("FFCRA") was enacted one week ago (March 18, 2020).  Here is what we know so far. The F…

Contagion II: MORE Practical Advice for NC Employers Wrestling with COVID-19

Written By Grant B. Osborne

We wrote just four days ago that the world seems to have shifted beneath our feet – to have become alien and dangerous. That, in recent days, hasn’t become less true. For employers, it has also become far more…

Contagion: Practical Advice for NC Employers in the Face of Coronavirus Disease

Written By Grant B. Osborne

The world seems to have shifted beneath our feet – to have become alien and dangerous. That's no doubt true, but we've been here before. More than 100 years ago, soon after the end of World War I, we encountered the…

Thanks for the Tip: U.S. DOL's Proposed Rule and Potential Enhanced Availability of "Tip Pools"

Written By X. Lightfoot and Grant B. Osborne

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ("FLSA"), for decades, has permitted employers to pay some workers a lower minimum hourly wage than would otherwise be due if the workers receive at least a minimum amount per month in …

EEOC Representative Provides Perspective on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination

Written By Grant B. Osborne

How does the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission evaluate discrimination complaints? What trends is it seeing in the cases it’s reviewing? And how do investigators assess claims involving sexual harassment and e…

Pray for a Good Harvest, but Keep at Your Plow – And Know Enough Employment Law to Stay Out of the Ditch

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Employers in agribusiness face the same risks as those in any other business, but perhaps more than most if faced with frequent employee-turnover and employees with little loyalty to those for whom they work. Former emplo…

Play by the Rules, Especially if They Are Your Rules: NC Supreme Court Creates New Constitutional Claim for Governmental Employees

Written By Grant B. Osborne

"We hold it to be self-evident that all persons … are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, [and] the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor …." …

Social Hosts Beware: "One More for the Road?" May Be a Bad Idea

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Everyone was having such a good time, too . . . The company was hosting its annual holiday party.  The company had arranged to hold the event that Saturday night in a hotel ballroom.  Moods were festive, especia…

"Stick A Fork in It!" Updated Overtime Rules Are DOA . . . For Now

Written By Grant B. Osborne

On August 31, 2017, Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas entered a final judgment in State of Nevada et al. vs. U.S. Department of Labor et al., awarding summary judgment against …

The Blind Side: EEOC's "Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment"

Written By Grant B. Osborne

  "The more laws, the more offenders." -- Thomas Fuller Background On January 10, 2017, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the "EEOC") did employers a favor.  It released "a propos…

Pretty Fast for Government Work: United States Department of Labor Files Notice of Appeal of Order Enjoining Enforcement of “Final” Overtime Rule

Written By Grant B. Osborne

On November 22, 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a momentous preliminary injunction stopping the United States Department of Labor ("DOL") from implementing and enforcing its…

Not So Fast: Texas Judge Stops Department of Labor From Implementing New Overtime Rules on December 1st

Written By Grant B. Osborne

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has granted a preliminary injunction stopping the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") from implementing new overtime regulations.  The court concluded th…

Lessons From the EEOC's General Counsel's Retrospective: Top Ten Litigation Developments and the Effective Employer's Response

Written By Grant B. Osborne

On October 7, 2016, the General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), P. David Lopez, presented "The EEOC's Top Ten Litigation Developments" at an employment law symposiu…

At Long Last: The Department of Labor Issues Final Salary Threshold Rule Effective December 1, 2016

Written By Grant B. Osborne

After almost a year of speculation and concern, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") today, May 18, 2016, issued its long-awaited Final Rule on overtime exemptions, making a major change to the minimum salary that an emplo…

Love Won't Let Me Wait (for Congress): EEOC Files "Sexual Orientation" Employment Discrimination Lawsuits Based on Title VII of Civil Rights Act

Written By Grant B. Osborne

On March 1, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") did something that many in the world of employment law have anticipated for a long time but still find remarkable: it sued two employers in federa…

The Fair Labor Standards Act Statute of Limitations Limits Employer Liability: Except When It Doesn't

Written By Grant B. Osborne

​"Hard cases, it has frequently been observed, are apt to introduce bad law."- Judge Robert Rolfe, Winterbottom v. Wright, 1842. "For the want of a nail . . . the Kingdom was lost"- Unknown About a year a…

White Collars Turning Blue? The Possible Impact on Employers of the Department of Labor's Proposed Revisions to the Regulations Governing Overtime Pay for “White Collar” Workers

Written By Grant B. Osborne

The Department of Labor has proposed rules to dramatically limit the ability of employers to classify "white collar" employees as exempt from overtime pay requirements. Background The federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("F…

White Collars Turning Blue? The Possible Impact on Employers of the Department of Labor's Proposed Revisions to the Regulations Governing Overtime Pay for "White Collar" Workers

Written By Grant B. Osborne

The Department of Labor has proposed rules to dramatically limit the ability of employers to classify "white collar" employees as exempt from overtime pay requirements. Background The federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("F…

Perhaps Mimeographs and IBM Selectrics® Weren't So Bad: Employee Entitlement to Use Employer Email Systems to Engage in Protected Concerted Activity

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Overview Most employers of any size or sophistication are generally familiar with the governmental agencies that regulate them, such as the U.S. Department of Labor ("USDOL"), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (…

"I'm from the Government and Here to Help": The NLRB's New EXPEDITED Union "Representation Case Procedures"

Written By Will Oden and Grant B. Osborne

Union membership in the private sector, nationwide and in states like North Carolina, is hardly flying off the shelf.  It now appears that the NLRB is trying to accomplish by administrative fiat what has not been acco…

Perhaps Mimeographs and IBM Selectrics® Weren't So Bad: Employee Entitlement to Use Employer Email Systems to Engage in Protected Concerted Activity

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Most employers of any size or sophistication are generally familiar with the governmental agencies that regulate them, such as the U.S. Department of Labor ("USDOL"), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the In…

Supervisor to Employee: "You Want FMLA Leave? No Problem!"

Written By Grant B. Osborne

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." Luke 12:48 Take a good look at written job descriptions of supervisory employees who work for companies covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 19…

"#YOUSHOULDSUE" The Danger of Firing an Employee who has Called-Out the Company in Social Media

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Employers may like to believe that they are free to discharge an employee who, via Facebook, has encouraged a former co-worker to hire a lawyer and sue the employer.  Why in the world, you might ask, would an employer…

But I'm Not The Employer! Personal Liability of Officers, Managers, Supervisors, and Shareholders Under Wage and Hour Laws

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Self‑employment is an important source of jobs in the United States, but the vast majority of American workers are employed by businesses owned or controlled by others.  Many such businesses are almost certainly…

Supervisors' Personal Liability Under Federal and North Carolina Wage and Hour Law

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Federal and North Carolina laws regarding employees' wages and hours of work impose potential liability on a covered "employer."  Do such laws impose personal liability on individuals who control the employer as well?…

New Limits on Counsel’s Review of Employee Email Communications

Written By Grant B. Osborne

I've had an article published in The Business Lawyer, a publication of the Corporate Counsel Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, regarding limits on a lawyer's ability to access and review the email message…