On September 23, 2017, Federal OSHA adopted the silica standard for the construction industry. The general industry aspect of the silica standard took effect on June 23, 2018. As a state plan state, Arizona has six months to adopt the Federal OSHA standard. However, review and approval of this standard had been delayed at the […]
In light of the ever-growing number of states and local governments mandating paid sick leave requirements for private employers, some federal paid sick leave bills have been proposed. Some proponents have called for federal intervention to alleviate multijurisdictional employers from having to comply with a myriad of State and local laws – which are often different […]
On Thursday, the California Supreme Court held the federal Fair Labor Standards Act de minimis rule, which limits suits over small increments of unpaid time upon a showing that the bits of time are administratively difficult to record, does not apply to California wage order claims. Limiting its holding to the facts of the case, […]
Employee handbooks, policy and procedure manuals, and other guidelines given to employees can be a very effective way for employers to communicate their expectations to their employees and show that an employee’s bad behavior was in violation of company policies. Yet, employee handbooks can also be a liability to the company by implicitly carving out […]
Will a marijuana issue be on your ballot this year? The state-by-state approach to medical and recreational marijuana means voters in at least four states will consider revisions to their laws on marijuana. For employers with nationwide workforces or employees in multiple states, this means the prospect for more changes, which are not necessarily uniform, […]
In Janus v AFSCME , U.S. No. 16-1466, the Supreme Court held on June 27, 2018 that States and public sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from non-consenting employees. Such extractions violate the employees’ First Amendment right to free speech. The decision, delivered by Justice Alito and joined by Justices Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas […]
A surprising and cautionary tale for employers from the usually conservative and employer-friendly Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals – you might want to sign your arbitration agreements. The court last week struck down an employer’s arbitration agreement which was signed by the employee but not by the company. See here. The arbitration agreement at issue […]
In 1974 the United States Supreme Court in American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah held that the timely filing of a class action tolls the applicable statute of limitations for all persons encompassed by the class complaint. This holding was clarified in 1983 in Crown, Cork & Seal Co. v. Parker to provide that […]
Last week, a bizarre story broke regarding Bryan Colangelo, the general manager of the Phildelphia 76ers (a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association, for all of you non-sports types). According to published reports, Colangelo allegedly created and operated five anonymous Twitter accounts, and used them to criticize his own team’s players and coaches, […]
The California legislature is looking to pass a host of bills aimed at decreasing sexual harassment in the workplace and increasing rights of victims of sexual harassment: SB 820 bans confidential settlement agreements in cases involving sexual assault, sexual harassment or sex discrimination. This bill would make any such confidential settlement agreement void as a […]
