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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.

FIRST MONTH'S EFFECTS OF QUICKIE UNION ELECTION RULE

| July 2015
The NLRB "quickie" or "ambush" election rule went into effect on April 14. Its effects are already being seen. The median time interval from the filing of an election petition to the holding of the election has been reduced to 23 days. Specifically, in the case of directed-election cases (as opposed to stipulated elections), the elections took place 23 da...
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WHAT THE SUPREME COURT’S GAY MARRIAGE DECISION MEANS FOR EMPLOYERS

| August 2015
On June 26, 2015, a narrow majority (5-4) of the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. While some States already had recognized such marriages, the Supreme Court ruled that all States must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on the same basis as opposite-sex couples and must recognize the marriages of same...
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NEW LABOR DEPARTMENT GUIDANCE AS TO DETERMINATION OF WORKER OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CLASSIFICATION

| September 2015
Without employment status, persons generally cannot organize a union, pursue employment litigation, or have employment taxes taken out of their paychecks.  But unions, plaintiffs’ litigators, and of course the U.S. government, like employment status for tax, enforcement, and other reasons. On July 15 of this year, the U.S. Department of Labor ...
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SUPREME COURT ALLOWS EMPLOYER TO REDUCE RETIREE HEALTHCARE BENEFITS

| September 2015
Many employers provide healthcare benefits not only for active employees, but also for retirees.  While pension benefits are normally thought of as vested, by and large employers have a great degree of leeway to design health and welfare plans according to their own wishes.  However, once the welfare plan is written, courts will enforce the term...
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FIRST TRANSGENDER, NEXT TRANSRACIAL?

| September 2015
In light of the government's effort to provide protected status to transgender persons, and to require employers to honor an individual's choice as to what sex they wish to identify with, one wonders about recent "transracial" issues that arose concerning former NAACP Spokane Chapter President Rachel Dolezal.  Dolezal resigned on June 15 amid controv...
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EMPLOYER SURVIVES CHALLENGE THAT ITS SEVERANCE PLAN WAIVERS WERE INVALID, NOT MEETING REQUIREMENTS OF GROUP WAIVERS

| November 2015
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) contains various protective provisions governing the binding nature of a settlement or waiver of a potential age discrimination claim.  The ADEA is somewhat unique in setting forth additional requirements that are not necessary for a settlement or waiver to be binding in any other discrimination claims,...
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EXECUTIVE ORDER ON MANDATORY SICK LEAVE FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS

| November 2015
In celebration of Labor Day, President Obama on September 7, 2015 announced an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to provide minimum amounts of paid sick leave to their employees.  This rule follows others, such as the $10.10 mandatory minimum wage, that make a broad statement but apply only to employers who do business with the federal go...
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STRATEGY REGARDING NLRB ATTACKS ON COMMON EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

| November 2015
The blows seem to keep coming from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) attacking common employer personnel policies.  The NLRB's philosophy is that any policy that could be read by an employee to prohibit legitimate union or other concerted activities is unlawful because it "chills" such union or other concerted activities.  Further, the N...
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OTHER CONCERNS ABOUT REFUSING TO HIRE OR DISCHARGING EMPLOYEES PRESENTING A NEW SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

| December 2015
In our March newsletter, we discussed a provision in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Handbook for Employers, Guidance for Completing Form I-9, which deals with a situation where an employee informs the employer that his or her identity is different from that previously used to complete Form I-9.  The Guidance states that: "In that circu...
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CONCEPT OF DISPARATE TREATMENT EXAMINED CONCERNING APPLICATION OF ATTENDANCE RULES AND OTHERS COMMITTING SIMILAR OFFENSE

| December 2015
A recent case illustrates important principles concerning whether an employer has equally applied its attendance policies, as well as its other work rules.  Watkins v. EFP, LLC, 125 FEP Cases 1756 (N.D. Ala. 2014).  The African-American plaintiff first contended that the employer treated him differently than a similarly-situated white employee w...
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RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION WHEN EMPLOYEE ORDERED TO TAKE DRUG TEST

| December 2015
A couple of recent cases from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) create additional issues for employers when unionized employees refuse to take drug tests, and/or demand some type of representation prior to taking such tests.  Some 40 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case involving a unionized employer that, when an employee is ques...
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