The Utah Legislature is in session again, and it’s likely that there will be changes in the Utah employment landscape by the time the Session concludes in a couple months. Among the bills being offered this year is House Bill 69, titled Sick Leave Amendments. Sick leave is a rather routine benefit many, if not […]
This past week, the EEOC withdrew its 1997 policy statement regarding mandatory binding arbitration agreements. In that policy statement, the EEOC took the position that the use of mandatory binding arbitration agreements as a condition of employment were contrary to the fundamental principles of the federal anti-discrimination statutes, including the right to pursue discrimination claims […]
Over the last decade, the proliferation of state and local laws regulating employers has exploded. Whether it is minimum wage increases or salary history bans, the number of issues being addressed on a state and local level is unprecedented. But the evolving state laws on marijuana has and will continue to generate challenges for employers. […]
As we reported last year, “Times They Are a-Changin’” [see article here]. However, given the monumental shift in public perceptions of cannabis, the Nevada legislature has followed suit and has now taken a giant step further into the marijuana morass. As a result, employers are now prevented from rejecting job seekers because they failed a test […]
A recent settlement between the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) and a national employer highlights the importance of ensuring that paid parental leave benefits provided by employers are not just written in a gender neutral policy, but also administered on gender neutral terms. The employer will pay $5 million to fathers who claim they were […]
Employers frequently ask if they can maintain rules requiring employees to keep the contents of their employment handbooks confidential. In a recent memorandum, the General Counsel (GC) (Division of Advice) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) concludes that such rules are unlawful, as they interfere with the employees’ rights to discuss handbook policies regarding terms […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is cracking down on employers for maintaining leave policies that the EEOC deems a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). These so-called “100 percent healed” policies require an employee returning from medical leave to be fully recovered and to work without any restrictions. According to the EEOC’s […]
In its 2014 decision Purple Communications Inc. and Communication Workers of America, the NLRB ruled that employees could generally use employers’ email systems to organize or engage in other concerted activities protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, overturning board precedent and causing employers everywhere to scramble to update employee handbooks and […]
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, […]
On May 2, 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed bill making New Jersey the 10th state to require employers to provide paid sick leave for employees. The law, which takes effect on October 29, 2018, requires employers to give workers one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with an annual cap of 40 […]