By Brian Hall on Temperatures across the United States are starting to heat up. Employers must be cognizant of the impact these rising temps have on employees who work outside. First things first. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) put together the following list of symptoms of heat illness and first aid solutions: Sunburn: Redness and pain. In … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on As our sister blog, Technology Law Source has reported, on May 11, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Defending Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which creates a federal trade secret misappropriation cause of action. As noted, businesses have a lot to consider in deciding whether to pursue this new cause of action in federal court … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On May 11, 2016, OSHA issued a final rule requiring electronic reporting of illnesses and injuries. The new rules apply to establishments with 250 or more employees. The rules require electronic submission of the 2016 OSHA form 300A summary report by July 1, 2017, and the 2017 300 log, 300A summary and 301 incident report … Continue Reading
By Leigh Anne Williams on Managing FMLA leaves that fall on holidays Administering the FMLA is difficult. When an FMLA leave falls on a holiday, it becomes even more complicated. Employers must know how to answer three holiday-related questions. First, if a holiday falls during an employee’s FMLA leave, does that holiday count against the employee’s FMLA entitlement? Second, how … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Whether the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is taking advantage of the fact that HIV infection has been in the news lately (thanks to Charlie Sheen’s recent disclosure about his own HIV status) or the timing is pure coincidence, the EEOC earlier this month issued two publications regarding the rights afforded by the Americans with … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on As we enter football season, workforces should prepare for the estimated 25 million fantasy sports enthusiasts who spend at least an hour of work time managing their teams each week during the 13- to 17-week football season. (See more here.) Distracted employees can reduce productivity, cause workplace accidents, and potentially impact the bottom line. As … Continue Reading
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 Porter Wright on Thanks to Summer Associate Christopher Hawthorne for his assistance with this blog entry. In an era of consumers making choices based on whether companies have ethical labor and sourcing practices, a new app now tracks how female friendly a company is. “Buy Up Index,” reveals whether a company’s workplace policies and practices accommodate and empower its … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Thanks to Porter Wright Summer Associate Carolyn Alford for her assistance in preparing this blog post. The recent tragedy in South Carolina, where a reputed white supremacist opened fire on a crowd of Black churchgoers, has propelled the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism back into the public spotlight, after a picture surfaced of … Continue Reading
By Mike Underwood on The United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges requiring that all states recognize same-sex marriages is one of the more significant constitutional law decisions from the Court in many years. The impact of the decision extends in some ways to the workplace and to the day-to-day responsibilities of human resource and benefits professionals. Of … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Summertime brings company picnics, charity walks and softball leagues. Great moments for increasing employee morale, but these activities may lead to employer liability if an employee is injured while participating in such activities. In Ohio, employees injured while engaged in an employer-sponsored recreational or fitness activity are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits unless the employee … 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 Porter Wright on It is summer, and you know what that means: teenagers, everywhere. And they are not just hanging out at the mall, they are working at the mall, at the local pool, and in other entry-level positions. Unlike other workers, however, teenagers come with their own special set of complications. Generational issues aside, the real concern … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on For many, summer is a more laid-back time of year and rightfully so. There are summer holidays for people to enjoy, vacations, long weekends, lazy days outside taking advantage of the nice weather and, in the employment law area, many law-making and law-enforcing bodies are less active or not in session. Sometimes this laid-back attitude … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination and/or harassment on the basis of religion. This means that an employer cannot treat persons of different religions differently or appear to favor one religion over another. As such, employers should be mindful of varying cultural differences among their employees. While their are not as many religious holidays during the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on One issue that comes up for many employers in the summer is hiring seasonal workers. Hiring temporary seasonal employees presents some substantial legal traps for the unwary. Employers should assess their seasonal hiring practices to ensure compliance with various state and federal laws. In other posts, we advised you on the issues in hiring interns … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Almost a year ago, we wrote that a panel of the Sixth Circuit in EEOC v. Ford Motor Company, bucking the trend elsewhere, had held that an employer could be required to permit an employee to work from home as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. Last week, however, the entire Sixth Circuit, in an … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on I’m looking forward to joining my colleagues Dennis Hirsch and Jay Levine for a roundtable discussion of “Big data, data analytics and the law: What your company needs to know about the next big thing” on May 13. Here is a glimpse into what I plan to talk about from the employment lawyer’s perspective: Even … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled last week in Keller v. Miri Microsystems that a technician who installed satellite dishes is entitled to a jury trial on the issue of whether he was improperly classified as an independent contractor and therefore entitled to overtime pay. Michael Keller argued that he was not an … 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 Brian Hall on On March 18, 2015, NLRB General Counsel Richard F. Griffin, Jr. issued Memorandum GC 15-04, which he intended to bring some clarity to the NLRB’s sweeping enforcement effort against employee handbook policies his office has deemed to be overbroad and infringing on workers’ Section 7 rights. All employers, particularly those that are not unionized, should … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall 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! This post takes a look at some of the common headaches that bad weather causes for employers and how … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on OFCCP issued proposed updated rules on sex discrimination for federal contractors covered by EO 11246. They will be officially published tomorrow. Contractors and interested parties can submit comments until March 31, 2015. The proposed rules largely align with the obligations already imposed by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which applies to most employers, … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on As the weather turns colder, concerns about the flu resurface. With many reports that this year’s flu vaccine is less effective than usual, flu season figures to be worse than ever. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued updated guidance for businesses and employers, which can be found at: Make It Your … Continue Reading