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Determining How Rude An Employee Can Be to the Boss

Frank Kollman
10/29/2019
Labor Law
The National Labor Relations Board recently affirmed a decision that an employee's rudeness and disrespect toward his supervisor (in this case the president of the company) did not necessarily warrant termination if the employee is exercising statutory rights.  Blue Earth Digital Printing, Inc., 31-CA-133542 (2019).  The employee, after a somewhat heated exchange with the employer, said:  “I don’t think that you really care about our jobs or...
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NLRB To Review Successor Rule on Bargaining

Frank Kollman
10/25/2019
Labor Law
When a company purchases another company that has a unionized workforce, there are various rules developed by the National Labor Relations Board to decide the status of the union following the purchase.  Generally, the purchaser is not obligated to adopt the Union contract, and it can set whatever rates and benefits it wants for any employees it hires. The purchaser, however, may be obligated to recognize and bargain for a new contract with the...
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Wells Fargo Learns That Hiring Matters Too

Frank Kollman
10/22/2019
Agency Activity, Hiring Process
The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a conciliation agreement with Wells Fargo & Co. to settle allegations that it discriminated in hiring on the basis of sex and race.  The Office of Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) found that  Wells Fargo (a federal contractor) had discriminated against 2,066 female applicants for positions as online customer service representatives in Glen Allen, Virginia, and Salt Lake City, Utah, and 282...
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Tell Us About Bad Wage and Hour Investigators Says Head of Wage and Hour Division

Frank Kollman
10/21/2019
Agency Activity, Wage & Hour
The wage and hour laws are complicated, and rarely intuitive.  Technical violations of wage and hour laws are so common that no company can be absolutely positive that it is complying with all Department of Labor regulations, and the laws and regulations of states and local jurisdictions. In fact, these laws and regulations are so complicated that even the investigators hired to enforce them often interpret them incorrectly.  There are statutes,...
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OSHA's New Weighted Inspection Rules Go Into Effect

Frank Kollman
10/17/2019
Workplace Safety
In 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration adopted new weighted inspection rules to access its enforcement activity.  In the past, OSHA measured the effectiveness of its enforcement programs by counting the total number of inspections without regard to the type of inspection.  In other words, OSHA gave itself credit for effective enforcement by equating an inspection of a complaint about "strange smells" emanating from a nearby...
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Arbitrators Take One More Step Toward Infallibility

Frank Kollman
10/08/2019
Arbitration
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a decision of the Ninth Circuit (http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2018/12/04/16-16363.pdf) allowing an arbitrator to alter the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, despite contract language saying that the arbitrator could not alter the agreement in any way. ASARCO v. Steelworkers , No. 18-1415, Cert denied 10/7/19....
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Implicit Bias Training: California Attempts To Address Feelings And Biases People Do Not Know They Have

Frank Kollman
10/07/2019
Employer Training, Frank Kollman's Blog
Confirmation bias is a real thing. People give more weight to information that supports their beliefs than information than contradicts them.  You should recognize this. Stereotypes are real things, too. Most are based on characteristics that many folks in a particular group might have, but that characteristic becomes a stereotype when people think everyone in the group has that characteristic and exaggerates it at the same time.  In an effort to...
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Fitness for Duty Exams Scrutinized by Federal Court in Illinois

Frank Kollman
10/04/2019
Disability & Leave
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer may require medical examinations or make inquiries of employees about disabilities as long as the such examinations or inquiries are job related and consistent with business necessity.  The employer bears the burden of proof of business necessity and job relatedness.  Frequently, issues arise when employees develop medical conditions or behaviors that could affect performance and safety, and...
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Gender Identity Bias and Employer Dress Codes

Frank Kollman
10/02/2019
Employment Discrimination, Gender Identity, Supreme Court Decisions
On October 8, the Supreme Court will hear arguments whether gender identity is a protected classification under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, in addition to sex, race, color, religion, and national origin.  R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, et al., No. 18-107.  Whatever the Court decides, its opinion could have a profound impact on dress codes in the workplace.  The case before the Court...
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Supreme Court Limits Scope of Compulsory Membership Dues for Government Unions

Frank Kollman
07/01/2014
Labor Law, Public Sector Employment Law
The Supreme Court has ruled that a mother receiving state financial assistance to care for her disabled child does not have to pay union dues. Can you believe that there were four justices who disagreed with that ruling, and the Secretary of Labor has already criticized the decision? Certainly there has to be more to the story. The issue the Court was asked to decide was the result of increased union power over governmental officials it helps to...
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