According to Part 541 of regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor under the Fair Labor Standards Act, exempt employees must be paid a guaranteed salary. Under §541.602, employers may only deduct from this salary for...more
The National Labor Relations Board’s landmark Boeing Co. decision set a new legal standard for determining whether employer policies interfere with employee rights to engage in protected concerted activity under federal labor...more
When companies change management, employees sometimes believe it is unfair to hold them to higher performance standards than those required by their former supervisors. When it comes to accommodations made to disabled...more
If asked to describe the essential functions of a given job, most employers would include actually showing up to work as a critical component. In recent years the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position...more
As noted previously in EmployNews, Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects concerted activity by employees who complain about terms and conditions of employment. Obviously, email and social media did not exist...more
In the wake of its Boeing decision, the National Labor Relations Board continues to analyze various employee handbook and other policies to determine if they interfere with Section 7 employee concerted activity rights. On...more
On the heels of its 2018 Boeing decision, the National Labor Relations Board continues to provide employers with guidance regarding acceptable and unacceptable restrictions on employee social media use. In a September 12...more
Unionized employers generally know that federal labor law prevents them from altering material terms and conditions of employment for the bargaining unit without first negotiating with the union. On September 10, the National...more
The National Labor Relations Board continues its efforts to revisit earlier decisions that expanded protections for employees engaged in concerted or union activities. On September 5, the board announced it is soliciting...more
Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 96-14.6, individuals are disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits if they are discharged due to misconduct associated with the work. On September 3, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued...more
The National Labor Relations Board continues to provide guidance with respect to employers’ attempts to regulate employee social media behavior. In its Boeing Co. decision, the board made it significantly more difficult for...more
Earlier this month, California’s governor signed into law the Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act. The new law is the first of its kind in the U.S. Beginning January 1, 2020, it will prohibit...more
Following its Boeing Company decision, the National Labor Relations Board continues to issue advisory opinions regarding the legality of common employer policies under the National Labor Relations Act. The policies are...more
When employers establish internal forums for employee comments, they may not anticipate that employees will use this as an opportunity to criticize the company and management. Employers also may not realize that such...more
On April 9, the New Your City Council voted overwhelmingly to approve a measure that would ban pre-employment marijuana testing for workers in the city, with a number of specific exceptions. Mayor Bill de Blasio has indicated...more
Over the past year, we have had a number of employers ask about removing marijuana from the panel of illegal substances screened for applicants and/or employees. Some of these companies cite the low unemployment rate, stating...more
When a current employee files an EEOC charge or other legal claim against his or her employer, the company sometimes learns that the employee has been taking company documents and providing them to persons outside the...more
As previously chronicled in EmployNews, a small but growing number of states that have legalized medical marijuana use have recognized employees’ rights not to be subject to adverse treatment by their employers due to such...more
10/19/2018
/ Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Preemption ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws
A recent New York Times article describes a new policy by WeWork, a company that provides office space to startups and other ventures. The policy prohibits the serving of meat on company premises or at company functions, and...more
Employers naturally have concerns over employee use of prescription or over-the-counter medications that could affect safe or effective performance of job duties. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act restricts...more
States that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana use continue to struggle with reconciling those laws with employers’ ability to regulate employees’ marijuana use. Recently, the California legislature failed to...more
Over the past decade, employers have expressed frustration over the National Labor Relations Board’s increasing scrutiny over what were considered to be standard employee handbook policies. In various board cases, it has...more
We frequently receive questions from employers faced with employees who have worked unauthorized overtime and who demand payment for hours the employer says it neither requested nor needed. The employer asks whether the...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act does not apply to all employers or even all employees within a covered company. For example, if the employee works at a location with fewer than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius, that...more
In 2016, Maine voters approved a referendum that legalizes use of recreational marijuana in the state. Among other things, the referendum prohibits employers from discrimination against employees based on off-duty marijuana...more