Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs. Two recent cases demonstrate the importance of recognizing when religious accommodations might be necessary. In March 2014, the EEOC published guidance on religious garb and grooming in the workplace. The guidance states that an employee does not […]
Employment LawScene Blog
On Tuesday, January 13, 2015, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Mach Mining LLC v. EEOC, 13-1019, the outcome of which will have a significant effect on the EEOC conciliation process and a case we have posted on this blog previously. The dispute revolves around whether — and to what extent — […]
New Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reporting requirements went into effect on January 1, 2015. These new rules require all employers, even those who are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records due to company size or industry, to report all work-related fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye to OSHA. Employers […]
Employers in today’s society are faced with a variety of workplace challenges, from complying with complex and often confusing employment laws to effectively managing a diverse workforce comprised of individuals from a broad spectrum of society. Let’s face it: managing your workforce, making the right employment decisions with regard to hiring, promotions, and terminations; and […]
On Monday, December 15, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued rules that will speed up the union election process. Although the rules do not take effect until April 14, 2015, employers should be aware of them and start preparing for the changes now. Under the current rules, representation petitions are filed seeking to […]
On December 11, 2014, in Purple Communications, Inc., the NLRB overturned its 2007 Register Guard decision and held that employees have the right to use their employers’ email systems for nonbusiness purposes, including communicating about union organizing. The NLRB emphasized the importance of email as a critical means of communication for employees, especially in today’s workplace culture, […]
On December 9, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk et al., ruling that time spent waiting to undergo and undergoing security screenings after work each day is not compensable time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). This case involved a collective claim […]
The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) provides an employer an exemption for minimum wage and overtime payments for any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity. An employee may qualify for exemption if the employee meets all of the pertinent tests relating to duties and receives compensation on a “salary basis” […]
Employers who label their employees as overtime exempt should be cautioned by a recent settlement out of a Florida federal court. The case, Lytle et al. v. Lowe’s Home Centers Inc. et al., 12-CV-01848 (M.D. Fla.), was premised on the allegation that plaintiff Lizeth Lytle and a class of similarly situated employees were improperly classified […]
Although we previously posted an article outlining that the mid-term elections could improve the landscape for employers regarding administrative agency enforcement, including the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), employers may still see a significant pro-union push from the NLRB before the end of 2014. Democratic-appointee Nancy Schiffer’s term on the NLRB ends December 16, 2014. […]
Employment Lawscene Team
