Posts in Affirmative Action.
BREAKING: DOL releases proposed rule on paid sick leave for employees of federal contractors
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action

UPDATE (2/26/16): Cara Crotty's full analysis of the proposed rule -- plus video! -- is here. Read Cara instead of me.

The U.S. Department of Labor released today a proposed rule that would require federal contractors to provide at least seven paid sick days per year to their employees. The leave could be used for the employee's own illness, or for family care.

The proposed rule, which ...

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REMINDER: OFCCP pay transparency rule takes effect Monday!
By Cara Crotty on
Posted in Affirmative Action

The OFCCP’s Final Rule prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against employees and applicants who ask about or discuss compensation goes into effect this Monday, January 11. The Rule applies to contracts entered into or modified on or after the effective date. Contracts are considered “modified” if there is any alteration in their terms and conditions ...

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A lesson from Twitter sex-bias lawsuit: Post those jobs!
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action, Class actions, Discrimination

Should an employer post high-level vacancies? Do Twitter birds fly?

Shortly before Ellen Pao lost started a "conversation" about sex discrimination in the tech industry, yet another lawsuit was filed alleging sex discrimination in the tech industry. In the latest one, software engineer Tina Huang has sued Twitter in California on behalf of herself and other female employees.

I ...

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15 for '15: Employment and labor resolutions for the new year
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action, Affordable Care Act, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Americans with Disabilities Act, Background Checks, Discrimination, Drug Testing, Equal Pay, ERISA, Family and Medical Leave Act, Harassment, Independent Contractor, Labor Relations, Lactation, Pregnancy, Protected Concerted Activity, Safety, Social media, Wage-Hour

By David Phippen of our Metro D.C. Office.

While the year is still young, here are 15 New Year's resolutions that employers may want to make:

1. Make sure your "independent contractors" are really independent contractors. "Independent contractors" are under scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, state and local agencies, plaintiffs' lawyers, and union organizers. A misclassification can cost you back taxes, back pay (including overtime), and back benefits, as well as penalties and interest. 

2. Review your email policies. The NLRB recently found that employees generally have a right to use employer email systems during non-working time in support of union organizing and concerted activity. The Board's decision means that many employer email use policies, as currently drafted, would probably be found to violate the National Labor Relations Act if an unfair labor practice charge were filed or a union tried to organize employees and argued that the employer's email policy interfered with the organizing efforts. In light of the new "quickie election" rule that the NLRB issued last month, both union and non-union employers would be well advised to review their email policies and revise as needed. (The "quickie election" rule is scheduled to take effect on April 14, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other employer groups, including the Society for Human Resources Management, filed suit on Monday seeking to block the rule.)

It's not too late to register for our webinar on the NLRB's new rules on "quickie elections" and employee email use. The webinar, featuring labor attorneys Tim Davis, Jonathan Martin, and Dan Murphy, is from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern tomorrow (January 8). Be there, or be square! 

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5 legal traps for the wariest employer
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action, Americans with Disabilities Act, Employment at Will, Family and Medical Leave Act, Gender Identity Discrimination, Harassment, Protected Concerted Activity, Retaliation, Wage-Hour

You're an employer who tries to do the right thing. But what hidden traps are out there, waiting to grab your ankle and yank you into a lawsuit? Here are a few that cause trouble for even the best employers:

Trap No. 5: Capturing all time worked for your non-exempt employees. We get so accustomed to exempt employees who answer emails at all hours and handle business while driving to and from ...

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Happy Turkey Day from the OFCCP! (not)
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action

This post is by Cara Crotty, co-chair of Constangy's Strategic Affirmative Action Practice Group.

 

Once again, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will ruin the holidays for thousands of federal contractors. The OFCCP announced last week that it plans to issue Courtesy Scheduling Announcement Letters, or CSALs, to 2,500 federal contractor establishments.Cara-Crotty.322.jpeg

CSALs ...

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BREAKING: OFCCP issues directive on gender-identity discrimination
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has issued a new directive on gender-identity discrimination, consistent with President Obama's recent amendment to Executive Order 11246. In essence, the directive says that discrimination based on gender identity is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a position that has already ...

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Obama's LGBT Executive Order raises more questions than it answers
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action

ROBIN'S NOTE: Thanks very much to Cara Crotty, head of our Affirmative Action practice group, who allowed me to share her insights about the President's Executive Order here on the blog. This will also be going out today via email as a Constangy Affirmative Action Alert. 

More than two years after expressly declining to do so, this past Monday, President Obama signed an Executive Order

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Obama signs LGBT discrimination, affirmative action order
By Robin Shea on
Posted in Affirmative Action

This morning President Obama signed an Executive Order amending the 1965 Executive Order 11246. President Obama's EO prohibits discrimination and requires affirmative action by federal contractors based on sexual orientation and gender identity. (It isn't clear what the affirmative action obligation will mean.)

The President's EO also makes corresponding amendments to ...

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Who needs HR? We all do.

Posted in Affirmative Action, Americans with Disabilities Act, Background Checks, Blacklisting, Class actions, Defamation, Discrimination, Drug Testing, Equal Pay, Family and Medical Leave Act, Harassment, Labor Relations, Protected Concerted Activity, Retaliation, Safety, Settlements, Social media, Wage-Hour

An article by Lauren Weber and Rachel Feintzeig in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal caught a lot of attention -- it was about companies that have made the decision to do without a Human Resources function.

The idea drew some positive response on Twitter:

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Robin Shea has 30 years' experience in employment litigation, including Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (including the Amendments Act). 
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