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Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues

Our Monthly Report on Labor Law Issues, also known as the Employment Law Bulletin, is a monthly newsletter that covers a wide range of labor law issues, including affirmative action plans, strikes, OSHA regulations, minimum wage requirements, and more. Other topics covered have included issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as workplace walk-outs and strikes, vaccinations, and employee rights related to positive test results and quarantine. The newsletter also covers issues related to discrimination, such as artificial intelligence and racial bias, and issues related to unions, such as organizing efforts and union successes at companies like Amazon and Starbucks. The newsletter also covers issues related to taxes, immigration, and court cases related to labor law. Stay informed and avoid legal missteps, by subscribing to email updates here.

Many employers, union and non-union, require employees to enter into non-competition and confidentiality agreements.  These provisions typically prohibit employees from using confidential company information outside their work relationships, and prohibit employees from competing against the employer during and for a certain period of time after their e…
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) prohibited certain discriminatory immigration-related employment practices because of a person's citizenship or national origin.  In 1990 Congress added a new provision prohibiting certain discriminatory documentary practices during the employment eligibility verification process (also called the Fo…
Employers have always feared receiving the dreaded "mismatch" letter from the Social Security Administration ("SSA") and have struggled to implement consistent and comprehensive plans to address these situations.  SSA would generally send these types of letters to employers to resolve any discrepancies in matching the employee's name and social securit…
            In a decision published August 5, 2016, a U.S. District Court magistrate has recommended that a warrant OSHA sought to conduct a comprehensive inspection of a North Georgia poultry plant be quashed (invalidated).  In re Establishment Inspection of Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc., N.D. Ga. No. 1…
On June 30, 2016, the Department of Labor announced that it is increasing the monetary penalties for more than 60 kinds of violations of labor and employment laws.  These changes are part of the Inflation Adjustment Act, which was part of the budget resolution that Congress passed in November 2015.  This law directs federal agencies to adjust th…
A federal appeals court has rejected the position of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that discrimination against a worker based on sexual orientation is prohibited by federal law.  Hively v. Ivy Tech Cmty. Coll., 129 FEP Cases 657, 7th Cir. App. (July 28, 2016).  This decision is the first federal appeals court ruling to addre…
Due to some highly-publicized incidents, including terrorism, the thinking on the prevention and reaction to incidences of workplace violence is undergoing a shift.  The Department of Homeland Security offers the following suggestions as the best methods to respond to an active shooter: 1.         Run - Have a…
It is no secret that federal agencies have been very active in recent years in changing their regulations and interpretations of existing labor and employment law.  Some commentators even assert that federal regulators are virtually out of control, writing laws as they see fit without democratic votes or review by anyone.  Numerous examples are la…
During March of 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule requiring employers to file public reports with the DOL when they use consultants (including lawyers) to provide labor relations advice that had the purpose of persuading employees regarding union organizing or collective bargaining.  The definitions were so broad as to potentially…
On June 10, 2016, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the NLRB’s controversial new "quickie election" rule.  Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas, Inc. v. NLRB, No. 15-50497 (C.A. 5, June 10, 2016).  Among other things, the quickie election rule cuts the amount of time between the filing of the request of the election by a unio…
An extremely interesting federal appeals court case addressed whether an employer can request work to be performed by an employee on FMLA leave.  Massey-Diez v. Univ. Of Iowa Community Medical Services, Inc., 26 WH Cases 2d 991 (C.A. 8, 2016).  The plaintiff claimed that she had been required to do various tasks while on FMLA leave, and she was ul…