Today, July 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a memo regarding the classification of workers as either employees or independent contractors, which stated that most workers qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The DOL noted that the FLSA has an expansive definition of employment and that workers who are misclassified […]
A few weeks ago, we posted a blog about the protection of transgender employees under Title VII. Since then, Caitlyn Jenner has graced the cover of Vanity Fair, the EEOC has further solidified its position on the matter, and OSHA has weighed in on the issue. One matter that has come up in many of the transgender […]
On Wednesday, April 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Mach Mining LLC v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, addressing the issue of the level of judicial review allowed regarding the EEOC’s duty to conciliate charges of discrimination prior to litigation. We have discussed this decision in this blog from its early stages (here, here, […]
Attorneys Joseph Gumina and Erica Reib authored a Labor and Employment Law article series entitled, “Anticipating and Managing Wage and Hour Pitfalls” on InsideCounsel.com. This monthly magazine serves general counsel and other top in-house legal professionals and provides strategic tools to help them better manage their legal departments. To learn more about the wage and […]
On March 18, 2015, the NLRB General Counsel issued a report concerning recent cases that raise significant legal and policy issues regarding employee handbook rules. Recently, the NLRB has been focusing on non-union employer’s handbooks and whether they violate Section 7 of the NLRA, which permits employees to discuss wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of […]
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has officially signed Right-to-Work legislation, which, as discussed in last Friday’s blog, will allow workers covered by union representation to not pay union dues if they do not wish to. Although the union will still have the right to collectively bargain on behalf of all private-sector employees in a bargaining unit, employees […]
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs. Two recent cases demonstrate the importance of recognizing when religious accommodations might be necessary. In March 2014, the EEOC published guidance on religious garb and grooming in the workplace. The guidance states that an employee does not […]
On Tuesday, January 13, 2015, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Mach Mining LLC v. EEOC, 13-1019, the outcome of which will have a significant effect on the EEOC conciliation process and a case we have posted on this blog previously. The dispute revolves around whether — and to what extent — […]
New Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reporting requirements went into effect on January 1, 2015. These new rules require all employers, even those who are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records due to company size or industry, to report all work-related fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye to OSHA. Employers […]
On December 11, 2014, in Purple Communications, Inc., the NLRB overturned its 2007 Register Guard decision and held that employees have the right to use their employers’ email systems for nonbusiness purposes, including communicating about union organizing. The NLRB emphasized the importance of email as a critical means of communication for employees, especially in today’s workplace culture, […]
