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.

SUPREME COURT DECISION RESULTS IN WAVE OF LAWSUITS AGAINST UNIONS

April 01, 2020 | November 2018

A dozen or more lawsuits have been filed against various state and local government unions across the country in light of the Supreme Court ruling in the Janus case, seeking refunds of union dues and fees employees were forced to pay to keep their jobs. In at least one of the cases, the union defendant conceded the issue and refunded the involuntary...

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AFL-CIO UNILATERALLY IMPLEMENTS CONTRACT AGAINST ITS OWN WORKERS, WHO ANNOUNCE STRIKE

April 01, 2020 | November 2018

Some of the most anti-union employers in the entire country are the unions themselves. This is a shocking but true statement. There is a long history of labor unions opposing their own employees forming unions, generally feeling that such actions are disloyal to the employer union. A recent example of this occurred at the headquarters o...

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SOCIAL SECURITY MISMATCH LETTERS TO RETURN

April 01, 2020 | November 2018

In July of 2018, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that it will be resuming the practice of sending "no-match" letters to employers when the information on tax forms is not consistent with SSA records. The letters are expected to resume in 2019, and as before, will request that the businesses and employers take steps to correct the ...

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JUDGE BLOCKS ENDING OF TPS STATUS OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES

April 01, 2020 | November 2018

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is an immigration status granted to citizens of certain countries that have experienced various emergencies, such as natural disasters or civil wars, allowing them to seek refuge in the U.S. and be allowed to work. Currently citizens from 10 countries may have this status, but over the last year the Trump administrat...

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OSHA LACKS PROBABLE CAUSE TO CONDUCT BROAD SAFETY INSPECTIONS

April 01, 2020 | November 2018

In a October 9, 2018 decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a district court ruling has been affirmed quashing an inspection warrant that OSHA had sought to expand a limited incident inspection to a "wall-to-wall" inspection covering every facet of the employer's facility. USA v. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc. This case was handled by the W...

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EMPLOYERS PROVIDING PARENTAL LEAVE MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST FATHERS

March 31, 2020 | September 2018

More and more employers utilize some form of parental leave to allow bonding with a new child. Some say the moves help in hiring and retention of top talent. Regarding such leave, however, the purpose of the parental leave is for child bonding, and the discrimination laws require the same rights to be extended to fathers as are extended to mot...

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UNION OBSTACLES IN WITHDRAWING FROM DUES CHECK-OFF OBLIGATIONS

March 31, 2020 | September 2018

A recent NLRB ruling demonstrates how unions often place obstacles on the ability of employees to withdraw from their union dues check-off obligations. Teamsters Local 385 (Walt Disney Parks), 366 NLRB No. 90 (6/20/18). In this case, the Teamsters Local was found to have deliberately failed to respond to employees of Walt Disney and United Par...

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UNION GAINS SOUTHERN FOOTHOLD

March 31, 2020 | September 2018

When Boeing technicians voted 104-65 for representation by the machinist union in Charleston on May 31, 2018, it had some significance. First, this was an unusual victory for unions in South Carolina. Second, the victory directly raised the controversial issue of "micro-units" in union representation elections. Boeing has a major facili...

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OSHA TO REDUCE ELECTRONIC REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

March 31, 2020 | September 2018

OSHA issued a notice on July 28, 2018 that it is planning to withdraw the requirement that work sites with 250 or more employees submit certain types of injury and illness documents. Under a rule issued during the Obama Administration, OSHA had planned to require the submission of Form 300, annual summary of every work-related injury or illness requ...

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS SHOW INCREASING SENSITIVITY OF HARASSMENT ISSUES

March 31, 2020 | September 2018

Recent news developments show the increasing sensitivity of harassment issues including inappropriate language. During July, the founder and chairman of Papa John's was forced out over comments made during a May conference call in which he allegedly used the slur "n - - - - -," explaining that other chains used the word but his chain did not, referr...

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ICE ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY HAS DOUBLED AND MORE INCREASES PLANNED

March 31, 2020 | September 2018

During Fiscal Year 2018, which began last October 1, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has doubled its enforcement activities. It has opened some 3,510 workplace investigations, between October 1 and May 4, up from 1,716 during all of the previous fiscal year. That number is expected to reach around 5,500 by the end of the current...

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