Tag – Mel Haas: Employment & Labor Insider

Posts tagged Mel Haas.

Judge Blocks U.S. Department of Labor "Persuader Rule"

By Robin Shea on 6.27.16
Posted in Labor Relations

U.S. District Court Judge Sam R. Cummings in Lubbock, Texas, has issued a preliminary injunction, which blocks the U.S. Department of Labor's "Persuader Rule" from going into effect on Friday. I have not had a chance to read the decision yet, but here it is. This is great news for employers. Many thanks to my law partner, Mel Haas, who had the inside scoop and shared it with the rest of us ...

Your summer labor and employment reading list -- for this week, anyway

By Robin Shea on 6.24.16
Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination, FOCUS, Gender Identity Discrimination, Labor Relations, Pregnancy

I was on vacation last week, and so we have a lot of catching up to do. Here's what's been going on, from most to least recent:

I had pressing legal business last week.

*David Phippen has been keeping us up to date on the U.S. Department of Labor's Persuader Rule and what that will mean for employers. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Minnesota refused to preliminarily block enforcement of ...

BREAKING: DOL releases proposed rule on paid sick leave for employees of federal contractors

By Robin Shea on 2.24.16
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 ...

REMINDER: OFCCP pay transparency rule takes effect Monday!

By Cara Crotty on 1.8.16
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 ...

What's your two cents? Employment law in the news

By Robin Shea on 9.18.15
Posted in Discrimination, Lawyers!, Social media

I've been vacationing by the shores of Gitche-Gumee this week, so I'm trying to give myself a little blog-cation as well. Here are some entertaining and controversial legal or employment-related developments from the news before I left. With apologies to John Oliver, let's just call it "Last Week Today." (Hey! I'm on vacation!)

Miner's Castle, Pictured Rocks National ...

When terminating an employee, is a clean break better than a long limbo?

By Robin Shea on 9.11.15
Posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, Discrimination, Employment at Will, Workers' Compensation

If you have a poor performer, is it better to make a clean break and fire him, or is it better to prolong his (and your) agony?

That is obviously a biased question, but some employers will do almost anything to avoid firing an employee, including the following:

Nothing

Issue 8 bazillion warnings but never act on them

Offer a demotion, or a transfer to a less demanding job

Let the employee ...

A lesson from Twitter sex-bias lawsuit: Post those jobs!

By Robin Shea on 4.10.15
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 ...

15 for '15: Employment and labor resolutions for the new year

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!

Happy Turkey Day from the OFCCP! (not)

By Robin Shea on 11.17.14
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.

CSALs ...

Obama's LGBT Executive Order raises more questions than it answers

By Robin Shea on 7.23.14
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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