NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo joins Michael Schmidt today to discuss her latest memorandum finding that "stay or pay" provisions in employee agreements constitute illegal noncompetes under the National Labor Relations...more
Michael Schmidt, Vice Chair of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, is joined by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo to discuss the Board's February 21, 2023 decision in McLaren Macomb invalidating certain...more
In today's new episode, Michael Schmidt is joined by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo to discuss significant recent activity at the Board, including her position that employer "captive audience meetings" held with...more
The past several weeks have seen significant action from the major federal agencies involved with employment law: EEOC, NLRB, DOL, and OSHA. In today's new episode, Mike Schmidt will highlight the direction these agencies...more
4/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
This is Part 2 of Mike Schmidt's 2-part episode pitting employee/plaintiff-side lawyer Hope Pordy, Esq. against employer/defendant-side lawyer Jeremy Glenn, Esq. to finish debating some interesting HR topics....more
4/17/2020
/ At-Will Employment ,
Code of Conduct ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
First Amendment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Social Media ,
Unions ,
Work Life Balance ,
Workplace Communication
Podcast host Michael Schmidt is joined by Dan Johns, a partner in Cozen O'Connor's Labor and Employment Department, to talk about 3 significant NLRB decisions affecting all employers in the areas of (1) employee use of...more
2/13/2020
/ Confidentiality Policies ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Union Dues ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Workplace Investigations
This episode presents Part 2 of 2 on workplace issues when employees use marijuana, and also discusses two significant developments from the NLRB involving independent contractors and individual employee gripes....more
1/31/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Drug Possession ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Right to Control
This special episode discusses the new sexual harassment training and policy requirements imposed by New York State and New York City (following a brief discussion of a significant development on joint employer liability)....more
9/26/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Joint Liability ,
New Rules ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Popular ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII
This episode welcomes the start of Spring by addressing hot labor and employment developments on e-mail curfews, the DOL’s new voluntary self-audit program, social media discovery in lawsuits, employees losing their...more
Thought 2017 would end quietly? The month of December has seen several stunning decisions by the NLRB which impact Obama-era precedent, and which will impact employers and employees going forward in 2018. Joining this episode...more
12/22/2017
/ Boeing ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Obama Administration ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Unions ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
This episode of Employment Law Now provides an update on current DC initiatives to change joint employer and overtime exemption standards, as well as Part 1 of a two-part interview with a leading expert on conducting an...more
11/8/2017
/ Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equity Compensation ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender Equity ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Paycheck Fairness Act ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Silicon Valley ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Trump Administration
This episode replays an interview of the podcast host, Mike Schmidt, that was originally aired on SiriusXM Channel 111, The Business Channel. Mike discusses the nature of adverse actions taken by employers due to employee...more
Michael Schmidt of Cozen O'Connor addresses recent trends and noteworthy developments on certain employment policies related to political activity, confidential customer information, FMLA retaliation, and maximum leave...more
8/21/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
But For Causation ,
Confidential Information ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Macy's ,
Mixed Motive Cases ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Social Media Policy ,
Standard of Proof ,
Termination ,
Unpaid Leave ,
UPS ,
Voluntary Participation
Activist NLRB Created More Problems For All Employers in 2016 - What Happens Under President Trump?
During 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) maintained its generally pro-union, anti-employer...more
1/12/2017
/ 21st Century Cures Initiative ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Ambush Election Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Arbitration ,
Asset Seizure ,
Ban the Box ,
Blacklist ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Criminal Investigations ,
DACA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dream Act ,
E-Verify ,
EB-5 ,
EB-5 Regional Centers ,
Educational Institutions ,
EEO-1 ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employees ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Graduate Students ,
H-1B ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
HRA ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Joint Employers ,
Management Rights Clauses ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Mexico ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Obama Administration ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Transparency ,
Persuader Rules ,
Protected Activity ,
Right to Strike ,
Section 7 ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Teaching Assistants ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Witness Statements
Yelp, I need somebody - Yelp, not just anybody - Yelp, you know I need someone - Yelp! My apologies to the Beatles. But the notion that one can’t do it alone and expect to be protected, may just be an apt moral in today’s...more
WTF already?! As in, “where’s the fairness?” Time for an acronym update from our favorite government acronym, the NLRB. You will certainly remember that we have recommended asking yourself three questions before determining...more
Unlike many issues, it seems that at least one issue (so far) has the NLRB on the same page as a recent court decision: whether clicking “like” on Facebook amounts to substantive, protectable speech. In my earlier blog posts...more
Here’s the truth: we are a litigious society. For a lot of reasons beyond the scope of this blog, a smarter workforce with ever-increasing access to information and resources continues to file employment lawsuits in record...more
6/12/2014
/ Automotive Industry ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Obscenity ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Termination ,
Trucking Industry
I loved the holiday season. But if I could look back and point to one part of the 2013 holidays that really bothered me, it is this: the incessant Michael Bolton appearances in those Honda commercials. Every two seconds,...more
In prior posts, I summarized the three-step analysis that employers should use before taking adverse action against an employee because of that employee’s social media activity:
1. Was the social...more
At the expense of sounding too corny, sometimes these issues are fascinating. As much as they are practical, from a takeaway standpoint.
Back on May 8, 2012, I blogged about an interesting federal case in Virginia that...more
Last week began this series of five posts to highlight five developments from this past summer in the area of social media and employment law. In Part 4 today: The use of company logos, and picture taking in the workplace....more
What a quagmire we find ourselves in. Actually, that the NLRB finds itself in. Although continuing to issue rulings and advice memoranda in a sort of free- and unfettered-looking way, the question of the NLRB’s authority to...more