Tag – SCOTUS: Employment & Labor Insider

Posts tagged SCOTUS.

Another employer pays for "Sorry, I can't go"

1.23.15
Posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, Discrimination, Drug Testing, Transportation Industry

Last October, I posted about a consent decree entered into between Wal-Mart and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in which Wal-Mart agreed to pay $72,500 to candidate for a store job in Maryland whose offer was withdrawn because she couldn’t undergo a urine test for drugs.

The candidate had end-stage renal disease.

Now, Kmart has been hit, too, in a case involving almost ...

BREAKING: Supreme Court will review states' right to ban same-sex marriage

By Robin Shea on 1.16.15
Posted in Same-sex marriage

The Supreme Court decided today to review the right of states to ban same-sex marriage. The Court granted certiorari in four cases, all from the Sixth Circuit (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee), whose U.S. Court of Appeals had upheld state bans. Here are the issues on which the Court will hear argument:

1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between ...

Can courts second-guess the EEOC's conciliation efforts?

By Robin Shea on 1.14.15
Posted in Discrimination, Settlements

SCOTUSblog has the transcript of yesterday's oral argument in Mach Mining v. EEOC.

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!

Year-end employment law roundup -- happy 2015!

By Robin Shea on 1.2.15
Posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, Class actions, Discrimination, eLaw, Family and Medical Leave Act, Harassment, Labor Relations, Retaliation, Wage-Hour

NOTE: On January 15, this post was updated and one correction made (see "Nipped in the bud" and "Jury clobbers Catholic diocese," below).

Happy New Year, everyone! While I've been out for the holidays, the courts and government agencies have stayed busy with employment law matters. Here are the developments that I thought were especially noteworthy:

WAGE AND HOUR

Twenty states raised ...

Christmas won't be merry for these employers!

By Robin Shea on 12.19.14
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Discrimination, Employment Law Blog Carnival, Harassment, Labor Relations, Lactation, Pregnancy, Wage-Hour

Oh, you better watch out! A lot of employers have been naughty. I checked the court dockets, and would you believe all of these employment lawsuits filed in the week before Christmas!

Cratchit v. Scrooge & Marley (Madison Co. (London) OH Ct. of Common Pleas). Plaintiff asserts claims against employer under Americans with Disabilities Act, contending he was harassed and ...

Employment law advice you should never follow

By Robin Shea on 12.12.14
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act, Pregnancy, Retaliation, Safety, Violence

Employers, if you're getting advice like this from your employment lawyer, do you know what time it is? Time to get a new employment lawyer.

"Never give in on unemployment."

This is terrible advice on so many levels. First, an employee who doesn't have even the relatively minimal income provided by unemployment is going to be that much more likely to sue you -- as a matter of financial ...

5 legal traps for the wariest employer

By Robin Shea on 12.5.14
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 ...

EEOC promises guidance on wellness programs in February

By Robin Shea on 11.26.14
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, GINA

Good news! The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced in its 2015 regulatory agenda that it will be issuing proposed regulations on the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act on wellness programs. The proposed regs are expected in February.

To read about the continuing saga of the ADA/GINA and employer ...

Medical marijuana and the workplace -- another lawsuit filed

11.13.14
Posted in Drug Testing

As of this week, we have a new challenge to an employer based on medical marijuana – this time, in Rhode Island.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit alleging that Darlington Fabrics Corporation discriminated against a candidate for a paid intern position because the candidate, Christine Callaghan, disclosed that she used medical marijuana for her ...

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