With the general election days away, employers should familiarize themselves with their state’s voting leave laws. Voting leave laws vary across the country. A number of states, however, do not have specific laws permitting time off to vote. These states include: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, … Continue Reading
Various recent estimates of the values of the UK and global recruitment industry are put at a whopping £30 billion and $400 billion respectively. Yet there is virtually no regulation and anyone can set up a recruitment practice from their bedroom. There are few barriers to entry and recruiters are not required to have any … Continue Reading
Second year pro football quarterback and Northwestern University alum, Trevor Siemian is making headlines on the field this season for the Denver Broncos. His alma mater is making headlines off of it in the realm of labor law. Again. Last year, Northwestern’ s scholarship football players filed an action with the National Labor Relations Board … Continue Reading
We have been closely monitoring the battle over the legality of class and collective action waivers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been steadfast in its position that such waivers run afoul of the NLRA. The Fifth Circuit was the first Circuit Court to weigh in, consistently … Continue Reading
“Accidental leader – a long-serving employee who has spent all or a significant part of their career at one company and is promoted to the top job primarily on the basis of their loyalty, length of service and company knowledge” Some of us have experienced receiving a corporate communication on a Friday informing us that … Continue Reading
On Thursday, the US Department of Labor released the long-awaited final rule that requires federal contractors to provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year to employees. The final rule implements President Obama’s 2015 executive order and is expected to impact more than 1.1 million workers. Effective Date: The rule will apply … Continue Reading
In the typical workplace bullying scenario, the involved players are very clear—a co-worker bullies a fellow colleague or a superior bullies his or her subordinate. But what happens when the roles reverse and the employee bullies the employer? This scenario, dubbed “upward bullying,” occurs when a subordinate bullies someone in a managerial position. Upward bullying … Continue Reading
Employers will officially be required to report compensation data and hours to the EEOC beginning with the 2017 EEO-1 report. Last week, the EEOC announced approval of the revised version of the EEO-1 report. Although private employers have long been required to report sex and race/ethnicity to the EEOC, now private employers with 100 or … Continue Reading
Yesterday was a busy day, with the announcement of two long-awaited final rules from the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”). The EEOC released the final version of the revised EEO-1 form, and the DOL released the final paid sick leave rule for federal contractors. (And, as we reported yesterday, the U.S. House … Continue Reading
When it comes to employment laws, California is generally considered an employee‑friendly state. On September 25, California Governor Jerry Brown made it just a little more friendly by signing bill S.B. 1241. For employees that primarily reside and work in California, S.B. 1241 prohibits employers from requiring an employee, as a condition of employment, to … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has updated its poster for “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The new poster adds information on lactation breaks and worker (mis)classification. Additionally, the DOL has made its new poster tech-friendly by including a scannable QR code which takes employees directly to the DOL website. The poster … Continue Reading
Although drug and alcohol testing is generally recognised in Australia as forming part of an employer’s armoury for managing its health and safety obligations, a recent Fair Work Commission decision has provided a salutary reminder that employers in Australia which fail to follow best practice when conducting such tests risk being on the wrong end … Continue Reading
Nearly 4000 regulations have made their way through the federal bureaucracy in the last year of Barack Obama’s presidency in a mad dash by the White House to push through government actions affecting everything from gun control to nutritional labeling. With the current administration entering its final months in office, there is precedent that exists … Continue Reading
As most of you know, in May 2016 the Department of Labor (DOL) released its long-awaited Final Rule modernizing the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (FLSA) white-collar exemptions to the overtime requirements of the FLSA. See our rundown of the changes in our earlier post here. The new rule is scheduled to take effect December 1, … Continue Reading
In Jo Faragher’s article for the CIPD’s People Management magazine September 2016 “Employee councils and social media are opening up new routes for staff to get their voices heard. But is anyone listening?” she raises a number of interesting questions about the methods and effectiveness of employee feedback The article suggests that the combination of … Continue Reading
Ohio’s new medical marijuana law went into effect on September 8, 2016. Ohio became the 26th state, plus the District of Columbia, to legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use. And as several other states are set to vote on legalizing marijuana to varying degrees in the November elections, this remains an issue for employers … Continue Reading
The French Supreme Court recently ruled that an employer could not rely on the report of a private detective it had hired to spy on one of its employees to obtain an injunction against him because this was a breach of the employee’s privacy and that could not be justified, however legitimate were its concerns. … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals revived plaintiff Andrea Vasquez’s wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuit against her former employer, holding that under the “cat’s paw” theory, the retaliatory intent of any company employee – not just supervisory personnel – can be imputed to the company. The “cat’s paw” theory traces its roots … Continue Reading
On August 29, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final “Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues,” which replaced the Agency’s nearly-20-year-old 1998 Compliance Manual, Section 8: Retaliation. As the title clearly implies, the guidance primarily sets forth the Agency’s evolving interpretations of the law of retaliation. It also focuses on the … Continue Reading
On October 25, 2016, the final rule implementing President Obama’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order (E.O. 13676) will go into effect. The final rule was released by the FAR Council on August 24, 2016. Final guidance addressing key provisions of the final rule was simultaneously released by the U.S. Department of Labor. The … Continue Reading
In a 35 page Order [PDF] issued on Thursday, August 18, Judge Edward M. Chen dealt a surprising blow in O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc.: he denied preliminary approval for a $100 million settlement. In no uncertain terms, Judge Chen said the current terms of the settlement are “not fair, adequate, and reasonable.” In the … Continue Reading
Employers, it may be time to check your drug testing policies again. Though drug testing regulation is usually a function of state or local law, the latest regulation affecting employee drug testing is brought to you by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) and specifically addresses post-accident drug testing. OSHA’s … Continue Reading
“…if I’m prime Minister, we’re going to… have not just consumers represented on company boards but employees as well” (Theresa May, July 11, 2016). One part of that statement has already come true – Mrs May is now Prime Minister, but the other two – are these serious commitments or examples of those promises which … Continue Reading
An employee of West Australian Newspapers Limited (WAN) who moonlighted for Uber was caught in the act when, one Saturday night, he picked up a WAN manager. Despite being well and truly busted, the employee (who worked night shifts as WAN’s newspaper machinist) denied having any affiliation with Uber, saying that his wife had the … Continue Reading
