By Brian Hall on The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Glatt et al. v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. recently rejected the Department of Labor (“DOL”) six factor test for determining whether an individual has been properly classified as an unpaid intern in favor of another test that looks at whether the intern or the employer is the primary … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on Caitlyn Jenner has dominated the national public interest stories and social media of late. However sensational the news has made this particular story, the issues surrounding transgender individuals are increasingly impacting employers. Recently, the Eastern District of Michigan permitted one of the first sex-discrimination cases over a transgender employee’s firing to proceed. The Court refused to dismiss … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Summer is here! That means it’s time for Summer picnics, Summer jobs and the Summer heat. Is your workplace prepared? To be sure, check out our tips for employers on these and other Summer issues you may be facing: Check out the Forecast and sign up for seasonal updates!… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on We all pretty much know the drill at this point. Organization announces data breach, sends out notices as required under state and/or federal law to those individuals that are affected, offers some kind of identity theft protection or credit monitoring service, awaits public criticism and backlash. The NLRB and the American Postal Workers Union (“AWPU”) apparently … Continue Reading
By Mike Underwood on In December, 2014, Jamie LaPlante wrote here about expanded obligations under the affirmative action laws that cover federal contractors and subcontractors. Among the changes she mentioned was the April 8th effective date for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity among the classes protected under affirmative action laws. The expanded protections apply to all federal … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has now brought its first whistleblower enforcement action against a publicly traded company under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 for utilizing an overly broad employee confidentiality agreement. Specifically, the SEC alleges that KBR, Inc., has violated the Act by implementing employee confidentiality agreements that “potentially discouraged” employees from … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on On Tuesday, March 31, 2015, the NLRB issued an order upholding an ALJ decision that Pier Sixty LLC violated Sections 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act when it terminated an employee who wrote on his Facebook page that his supervisor was a “NASTY M____ F____ER.” According to the Board’s majority opinion, a number … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Although companies’ marketing departments likely are all over this issue, it won’t hurt their human resources directors to ponder what might happen if a few of their disgruntled former employees gets their hands on this new top level domain name. Our colleagues at Porter Wright’s Technology Law Source blog have watched the launch of hundreds … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As the NBA Season gets ready to tip off, Cleveland is certainly ready. The return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers has riveted the sports world and reinvigorated Cleveland. But for employers, this “going home” phenomenon has prompted conversations of boomerang employees — those employees who leave an employer only to return sometime later. … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on The recent data breaches at Target, Home Depot, and Jimmy John’s have kept data privacy and security in the news lately. But from a legal perspective, there has never been much that the victims of these breaches could do to obtain a remedy in the absence of actual proof of identity or other theft. Indeed, ever since … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Both the Third and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeal issued decisions last month reminding employers that providing proper notices to employees is a key to administering the FMLA. In Wallace v. FedEx Corporation, the Sixth Circuit upheld the district court’s ruling that the employer interfered with its employee’s FMLA rights when it failed to notify … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Employees today are certainly more media and marketing savvy than they were even 10 years ago, and they have more tools through which they can reach the public and each other to let their voices be heard. Two recent NLRB cases demonstrate that if employers are too aggressive in attempting to combat these employee communications, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Some days are just more fun that others! Just hours after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Halbig v. Burwell, which held that tax subsidies made available under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) to lower income individuals to help defray the cost of health care coverage may not be extended to … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A federal Court of Appeals panel in Washington, D.C. today released a decision that, if upheld, would strike down one of the main pillars of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and in the minds of many observers lead to unpredictable consequences. In a 2-1 decision in Halbig v. Burwell, the three-judge federal appeals panel reversed … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on For the past several weeks, our colleagues at Technology Law Source have been working hard to keep readers apprised of developments related to The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program. This program, which is essentially redefining the face of the Internet, is likely to impact any business — … Continue Reading
By Mike Underwood on Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act prohibits retaliation against employees who raise safety concerns at work or participate in OSHA enforcement activity. In recent Congressional hearings, Assistant Secretary of Labor, David Michael, proposed substantive and procedural changes for OSHA retaliation claims. If adopted, the changes could pose significant problems for companies defending … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, a/k/a March Madness, kicks off Sunday, March 15 with Selection Sunday, then rolls on Tuesday, March 18 with a couple of play-in games and then on to the actual tournament, which begins Thursday, March 20. The brackets, the gambling, the office conference rooms dedicated to the games, the continual online … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided last week that whistleblower protection under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 includes employees of a public company’s private contractors and subcontractors. In Lawson v. FMR LLC, the court, in a majority opinion written by Justice Ginsburg, concluded that extending protection to employees of a contractor was consistent with the purpose and intent of Sarbanes-Oxley: to protect investors and restore trust in financial markets.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Valentine’s Day is drawing near. You know, that magical time of the year when bad tasting, heart-shaped confections and red roses are everywhere you look, including the workplace. Of course, an employer’s non-fraternization policy will do little to stop two adults from taking their relationship to the next level. Though office relationships on occasion may lead to good things for the employees involved like diamond ring purchases, white weddings, and gender-neutral nursery décor, more frequently they lead to problems for employers such as claims of favoritism, reduced productivity, ethical problems, and sexual harassment claims, just to name a few. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on With Valentine's Day approaching, it is a good time to remind employers that dear old Cupid is alive and well, and strutting his stuff in the workplace. I won't bore you with the statistics about how many romantic relationships blossom in the workplace, and how many of those end up in marriage or crash and burn like the Hindenburg. As many employers already know, it is not just the parties actually involved that can get burned when it comes to workplace romances. Most often, it is the employer that feels most the heartburn when workplace romances turn sour. Because romantic workplace relationships will develop, regardless of what an employer does to try to stop them, here are some thoughts about how to protect your workplace and avoid the inevitable sexual harassment lawsuit.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In Deleon v. Kalamazoo Cnty. Road Comm’n, a split Sixth Circuit panel concluded that the district court improperly granted the employer summary judgment on the plaintiff’s discrimination claims despite the fact that the alleged adverse employment action was a transfer that the plaintiff had actively sought only nine months earlier.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on For some, snowflakes bring thoughts of snowmen and sleigh rides. For others, they signal the beginning of closed business days, employees arriving late to work, and all sorts of other issues—all the result of inclement weather! Since many parts of the United States are currently dealing with the effects of, what-is-being-called, the “Polar Vortex,” we decided to take a look at some common headaches for employers caused by bad weather and provide you with some helpful guidance.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on It should be old hat by now: Employers who use a third party to conduct a background check on an applicant or employee for employment purposes must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). But what many employers do not know, or may have forgotten, is that the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) also imposes upon them some obligations when conducting a background investigation. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The National Labor Relations Board Office of the General Counsel released an Advice Memorandum in Tasker Healthcare Group, d/b/a Skinsmart Dermatology ("Tasker") Case 04-CA-094222 on May 16, 2013 and concluded that an employee was not engaged in protected concerted activity when she posted comments to a Facebook group message that taunted her employer to "FIRE … Continue Reading