On Thursday, August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced an updated test for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), changing decades of precedent and significantly expanding the definition of who can be considered a joint-employer. A split Board decided it was necessary to “revisit and revise” the standard […]
Employment LawScene Blog
Litigation against employers by the EEOC regarding the implementation of wellness programs is ongoing in federal court, but no instructive decisions have been issued by the courts. Employers wishing to implement a wellness program but stay out of litigation may feel like they have little guidance on the issue, but there are some instructions out […]
Today, July 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a memo regarding the classification of workers as either employees or independent contractors, which stated that most workers qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The DOL noted that the FLSA has an expansive definition of employment and that workers who are misclassified […]
On March 13, 2014, President Obama signed a memorandum that launched the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) efforts to update the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime rules for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees, commonly referred to as the “white collar” exemptions. To be exempt from the overtime regulations, employees must meet […]
A few weeks ago, we posted a blog about the protection of transgender employees under Title VII. Since then, Caitlyn Jenner has graced the cover of Vanity Fair, the EEOC has further solidified its position on the matter, and OSHA has weighed in on the issue. One matter that has come up in many of the transgender […]
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch. Justice Scalia penned the majority opinion while Justice Alito wrote a concurrence and Justice Thomas concurred in part and dissented in part. The case, which centered around whether employers can be held liable for failing to accommodate a religious practice only after the […]
In April 2015, the EEOC also settled one of the first cases in which it attempted to litigate that transgender discrimination is protected under Title VII. The EEOC filed an amicus brief in a previous case claiming that sex discrimination includes discrimination against those who do not conform to gender stereotypes and, therefore, would include […]
On April 30, 2015, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin issued its long-awaited decision in Runzheimer International Ltd. v. Friedlen, in which it came to the conclusion that the promise of continued at-will employment is valid consideration for a restrictive covenant. In Runzheimer, the employee had worked for his employer for fifteen years when the employer required all […]
On Wednesday, April 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Mach Mining LLC v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, addressing the issue of the level of judicial review allowed regarding the EEOC’s duty to conciliate charges of discrimination prior to litigation. We have discussed this decision in this blog from its early stages (here, here, […]
On February 10, 2015, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “Everything Is Awesome! Why You Can’t Tell Employees They’re Doing a Bad Job” extolling the virtues of praising employees’ strengths and scaling back on criticism. Although this may be good for employees’ confidence levels, it is bad for companies when they have to defend a […]
Employment Lawscene Team
