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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.

DETERMINING STRATEGY ON WHEN AND HOW TO FIGHT AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM

| July 2014
Perhaps the most common form of employment "litigation" is a claim for unemployment compensation. Such claims are so common that only a few employers even consider this as "litigation," although such cases often involve a hearing before a state administrative officer or "judge." Similarly, a record can be established, often by a recording that can later b...
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PLAINTIFF REFUSED TO CHANGE HER HAIRSTYLE FROM DREADLOCKS TO SOMETHING "PROFESSIONAL"

| July 2014
A plaintiff recently sued an employer alleging that its dress code prohibiting dreadlocks constituted an unlawful employment practice that discriminates on the basis of race. While she was given an offer of employment, it was on the condition that she cut off her dreadlocks, and the offer was withdrawn when she refused to do so. The employer's policy stat...
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PLAINTIFF TERMINATED FOR FAILURE TO BE A "TEAM PLAYER" GETS JURY TRIAL

| July 2014
Some employers feel they can assign a certain name or description to an employee termination, and that courts will say it is ok. Terms such as "don't need you anymore," or "the job has been eliminated," "poor attitude," and "not a team player" are often used. Unfortunately, the use of such terms by an employer does not always guarantee an employer's succe...
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JOKES ABOUT AGE FORCE EMPLOYER TO FACE AGE DISCRIMINATION TRIAL

| July 2014
A 43-year-old head of sales was hired by a start-up internet technology company, and was employed only three months before being terminated for failing to meet sales quotas. At only 43, he was the oldest employee in the company, as most employees in the start-up company were in their 30's. The Defendant employer's chief executive made a remark to Plaintif...
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WHY THE GOVERNMENT LIKES TO ISSUE PRESS RELEASES AND BIG FINES

| July 2014
An on-going study of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has explained the obvious of why government agencies like to issue press releases and big fines. According to the preliminary results of the study, when a press release highlighting the fines from an inspection is issued, there is about a fifty percent (50%) reduction in the num...
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ONE WAY TO LOWER THE COST OF SEVERANCE PROGRAMS

| September 2014
The recent U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Quality Stores, Inc. resolved a disagreement among the U.S. Courts of Appeal about whether severance payments are subject to taxes required under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).  The Court held that severance payments are taxable "wages" for FICA tax purposes. This decision ...
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OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES OTHER NEW FEDERAL CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS

| September 2014
It looks like announcements are steadily coming from the Administration setting forth additional requirements on federal contractors. On July 21, 2014, President Obama signed an executive order banning job discrimination against gay and lesbian American workers of federal contractors. In making the announcement, the President stated that Congress has deba...
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OFCCP ISSUES GUIDANCE ON NEW DISABILITY/VETERAN'S AFFIRMATIVE ACTION REQUIREMENTS

| September 2014
There has been some confusion about when the new requirements pertaining to individuals with disabilities and protected veterans apply to affirmative action plans. The additional requirements only apply when specific contract value and employee thresholds are met. Employers with federal contracts worth more than $10,000.00 are subject to the general non-...
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RECENT REGULATIONS GIVE AN EMPLOYER TWO WAYS TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF THE 90-DAY LIMIT ON WAITING PERIODS

| September 2014
Obamacare prohibits an employer from imposing a waiting period of more than 90 days before an otherwise eligible full-time employee can begin participating in the employer's health plan. Recent regulations, however, create two safe harbors that an employer, particularly an employer with high turnover, may wish to consider. Regulations issued in February ...
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NEW DUELING RULINGS SUGGEST THAT OBAMACARE MAY GO TO THE SUPREME COURT AGAIN

| September 2014
Obamacare and the related regulations have generated much litigation, including two U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by 26 states and others that requiring individuals to pay a penalty for not having health insurance is constitutional as a tax. The Supreme Court also ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that the federal gov...
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WILL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING RULES REQUIRE REPORTING OF LAW VIOLATIONS BY UNIONS?

| October 2014
An editorial in a recent Wall Street Journal edition makes an interesting point by raising the question of whether some of the new OFCCP government contracting rules can be applied to labor unions. President Obama's Executive Order signed on July 31 of this year requires federal contractors to disclose labor law violations for the past three years before ...
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