Seyfarth Synopsis: California Legislators sent Governor Jerry Brown 1,217 bills to consider in his final bill-signing period as Governor—more than any California governor has seen since 2004. The final tally: 1016 signed, 201 vetoed. Below is our full, final roundup of new laws that…
legal issues
Court Says It Could be Retaliatory to Fire An HR Manager For This Advice
A company admitted it fired an HR representative for encouraging another employee to file with the EEOC. Last week, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued this opinion, which, in essence said, sometimes that can be retaliatory, and sent the case…
Green Card Sponsors Planning a Reorg Need to Handle It Carefully
When sponsoring foreign national employees for employment-based “immigrant visas” or “green cards” (which grant lawful permanent residence in the US), there are many factors an employer must consider, particularly when restructuring, relocating or downsizing its operations, to avoid the consequences…
Uber Drivers Lose Class Action Effort as Court Upholds Arbitration Requirement
It was just a matter of time. After the Supreme Court cleared the way for businesses to use class waivers with their employees and contractors with the Epic Systems ruling this past May, many observers expected that the decision would come back…
NLRB Issues Plan to Overhaul Joint Employer Rules
In a move that has been anticipated for several months, the National Relations Labor Board yesterday published a proposed rule that would fundamentally alter the definition of joint employment, making it more difficult for businesses to be held legally responsible for labor…
A Look Ahead at the Legal and Market Forces Affecting Employment
Almost two years into the new presidential administration, and with highly consequential and hotly debated mid-term elections around the corner, Littler’s Workforce Policy Institute’s Labor Day Report examines the state of the American workforce. The WPI offers this report to…
HR Worried A Dyslexic Would Fail, So She Was Fired
Do you know that proverb “no good deed goes unpunished”? This isn’t that situation. “There was no point in continuing the training.” Last week, the EEOC announced that it was suing an employer for disability discrimination after it fired an…
A Look at the #MeToo Movement’s Impact In the US, Brazil and the UK
Since the #MeToo movement began in October 2017, hardly a week goes by without the hashtag making headlines. From Miss America pageants to proposed legislation, the movement has given victims of sexual violence and harassment a new voice and has…
California Employers Must Pay For Expected Off-the-Clock Time
California employers who regularly have their hourly workers do brief, after-hours tasks must pay them for the time, the state’s Supreme Court said Thursday. In a case arising out of a Starbucks shift supervisor suing for the off-the-clock time he…
Appeals Court Says #MeToo Shows Employee Delay In Sex Harassment May Be Reasonable
In a July 3, 2018 opinion based in part on the revelations of the #MeToo era, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that an employee’s failure to report sexual harassment over a period of several years…
DOL Signals Return to Historical Test to Decide Worker Classification
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) on July 13 titled “Determining Whether Nurse or Caregiver Registries Are Employers of the Caregiver.” Although this FAB focuses on the caregiver registry industry,…
A Look at How Brett Kavanaugh Could Shape Employment Law
Respect to the employment law bloggers, reporters, and others who have been trying to read the tea leaves to predict what Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s record as a jurist would foreshadow should he ascend to the U.S. Supreme Court. Discrimination claims…
In the Rush to Big Data, Don’t Ignore the Legal Risks
Dear Littler: We are revamping our online job application. I asked our HR director if we should eliminate the question asking about an applicant’s hobbies. Not only does she think we should keep the question, but she says we need to…
Four EEOC-Approved Ways Your Company Can Prevent Age Discrimination at Work
Ayo, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just released a report on “The State of Age Discrimination and Older Workers in the U.S. 50 Years After the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).” According to the EEOC press release, “[t]he report finds that age…
Court Says Government Workers Can’t Be Forced to Pay Unions
There’s much hand-wringing and hand clapping today over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to unions. In a 5-4 vote, the Court’s conservative majority ruled that laws requiring teachers, firefighters, police and other…
Fair Warning: You Could Be Criminally Charged In Anti-Poaching Cases
The U.S. Department of Justice put HR professionals on notice that they face the risk of criminal prosecution if they are linked to what is viewed as anti-competitive activity with competitors restricting employment opportunities, benefits and depressing wages, so-called anti-poaching…
9 Ways the NLRB Is Making It Easier to Revise Your Handbook
If you’re new to the field, you’ll have to take our word on it, but HR-compliance professionals know that drafting a 100% compliant employee handbook got a lot tougher over the past several years. Let’s forget about paid-sick-leave laws, ban-the-box, and…
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Take Your Dog to Work Day
Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of Take Your Dog to Work Day (TYDTW), the event that really launched the era of pet-friendly workplace policies. Back in 1999, Pet Sitters International had this out-of-the-box notion: What if we created an event…
NLRB Issues New Guidance on How It Will Interpret Handbook Rules
Last week, NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a lengthy 20-page memorandum (GC 18-04) providing detailed guidance regarding enforcement of “Handbook Rules Post-Boeing.” In The Boeing Co., 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), the Board established a new standard governing…
Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Baker In Wedding Cake Discrimination
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. However, the 7-2 decision sets no precedent, instead the majority said the Colorado Civil Rights Commission showed a…