I think I speak for many in the employment law community when I say that Section 111A(4) Employment Rights Act has always been something of a disappointment. Here we have a provision which allows the protection of a protected conversation to be blown apart by improper behaviour, a term wholly undefined in the Act, and … Continue Reading
Over the course of just a few weeks, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) continued its ongoing dismantling of long-standing precedent and rollback of Trump-era procedural rules. First, on July 26, 2024, the Board released the “Fair Choice – Employee Voice” Final Rule, reversing three amendments the Board made in April 2020 to … Continue Reading
In an earlier post we looked at how far a settlement agreement could validly waive claims in respect of things which haven’t yet happened. The Scottish Court of Session in Bathgate -v- Technip UK Limited had very sensibly indicated that you can agree not to pursue future rights provided that the settlement agreement contains wording … Continue Reading
Back in October 2022 we reported here on the EAT’s decision in Bathgate -v- Technip UK Limited. This was a particularly unnerving ruling to the effect that settlement agreements could not cover claims yet to arise because of the requirement under section 147 Employment Rights Act that such agreements must relate to “particular claims”. The … Continue Reading
Christmas being a season of peace on Earth and goodwill to all men, so they say despite all the evidence, here is a quick festive look at just how confrontational things have to become in order to constitute a dispute at law. The question is a surprisingly important one, since on the existence of a … Continue Reading
You would think that in the twenty-plus years since they were first introduced as an alternative to the Acas COT3, all that could be said about the law relating to settlement agreements would have been said. However, along now comes the Scottish Employment Appeal Tribunal in Bathgate –v- Technip UK Limited and Others with a … Continue Reading
The California Legislature increased the complexity of employment law in the Golden State by enacting several employment laws that will soon take effect. Below we summarize key aspects of the more significant new legislation. Intentional Failure to Pay Wages May Constitute the Felony of “Grand Theft” (Assembly Bill 1003) Under current law, employers who wrongfully … Continue Reading
On Friday, October 9, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a proposed rule aimed at modifying the conciliation process that the agency employs prior to filing suit. When the EEOC finds reasonable cause to believe that allegations in a complainant’s charge have merit, the EEOC has the option of pursuing litigation on the … Continue Reading
Here are brief answers to two more of the questions raised at this week’s webinar on Effective Settlement Agreements. Can we make it a term of a Settlement Agreement that an employee will not make a DSAR after he leaves? Yes and no. Yes, in that he can sign up to such a term. No, … Continue Reading
We had several hundred sign-ups to our webinar on effective settlement agreements this week, so unfortunately did not get to deal with all the questions fed in through the chat box thingy on the screen. As promised, here are some of the answers – more to follow shortly.… Continue Reading
In non-coronavirus related developments, on March 16, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a decision in Baylor University Medical Center, reversing an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decision that found certain severance agreement provisions to be unlawful under Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Section 8(a)(1) prohibits employers from … Continue Reading
Don’t you just love a good understatement? How about this little beauty on the merits of a rejected flexible working complaint: “The difficulty for the claimant is that she never proved that this arrangement could work by producing the required amount of work in the required time. This was both in terms of quality and … Continue Reading
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued new guidance on the use of confidentiality agreements (often referred to interchangeably as “non-disclosure agreements” “NDAs”, “gagging clauses” or “confidentiality clauses”) in discrimination cases. The stated aim of the guidance is to “clarify the law on confidentiality agreements in employment and to set out good practice … Continue Reading
On August 9, 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (“WTA”), imposing new requirements and modifying existing laws in ways that will impact nearly all Illinois employers – and may be a signal of things to come in other US states. The WTA aims to address concerns raised through … Continue Reading
In all the hoo-hah around the use of NDAs in settlement agreement, no one yet seems to have asked the question of what happens if you sign such an agreement and are then called as witness to the Employment Tribunal anyway. Can you (or your former employer) rely on the NDA as a reason for … Continue Reading
Minimum Wage Updates On March 28, 2019, Maryland’s legislators voted to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by January 1, 2025 for employers with 15 or more employees and July 1, 2026 for employers with 14 or fewer employees.… Continue Reading
Last week we issued an alert about the UK government’s plans to introduce new legislation to tackle alleged misuse of confidentiality clauses in employment contracts and settlement agreements. The consultation has been launched primarily in response to concerns that some employers are using confidentiality clauses (sometimes referred to as “non-disclosure agreements”) to “gag” victims of … Continue Reading
On March 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a new, nationwide pilot program which it claims will facilitate quick and efficient resolutions of Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) minimum wage and overtime violations by allowing employers to promptly pay back wages to employees and at the same time avoid time consuming litigation … Continue Reading
When you sign up a Settlement Agreement with an ex-employee you think that’s the end of the matter, right? Clearly that is the general intention, but we already know that even the most procedurally prim and proper settlement agreement can be undone by evidence that it was entered into by fraud or misrepresentation and now … Continue Reading
