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NLRB Notice Rule Struck Down

Eric Paltell
Eric Paltell
05/09/2013
Agency Activity, Labor Law, Union Activity
On May, 7, 2013,  the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held  that the National Labor Relations Board lacked the authority to issue a  2011 rule which would have required all employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) to  post a workplace notice to employees.  The decision, National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB, drove yet another stake in the heart of the Obama NLRB’s activist agenda. As...
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New Federal Guidelines for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors in Considering Criminal Records

Randi Klein Hyatt
Randi Klein Hyatt
03/13/2013
Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination
On January 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued Directive 306, “Complying with Nondiscrimination Provisions: Criminal Record Restrictions and Discrimination Based on Race and National Origin.”  Effective upon its issuance, Directive 306 applies to all covered federal contractors and subcontractors, and requires contractors to carefully tailor the use of an applicant’s...
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Department of Labor Issues Revised FMLA Regulations

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
02/07/2013
Agency Activity, FMLA
On the 20th Anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the DOL issued its final regulations on Servicemember FMLA and on Flight Crew eligibility.  There was little outcry about these changes to the regulations.  The changes take effect 30 days from their publication in the February 6, 2013 Federal Register, which republished all of the FMLA regulations,  as well as the changes. You can find them through this...
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NLRB Gives Organized Labor New Gifts for the Holidays

Eric Paltell
Eric Paltell
12/26/2012
Agency Activity, Labor Law, Social Media
Over the past several years, December holiday cheer has meant more than just Santa Claus climbing down the chimney to deliver presents in the homes of union supporters. It has also meant that it's time for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to issue union-friendly decisions prior to the expiration of a Board member's term. 2012 has proved to be especially good one for organized labor. In a series of rulings coinciding with the end of Board...
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Four More Years: What Does Obama's Reelection Mean for Employers?

Eric Paltell
Eric Paltell
11/07/2012
Agency Activity, Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination, Labor Law, Legislative Developments, Wage & Hour, Workplace Safety
With the results of the Presidential election now in, its time to answer a question I’ve heard from a number of clients today: what does President Obama’s reelection mean for employers?  The short answer: you can expect to see a lot of blog posts from us about aggressive enforcement initiatives by the NLRB, DOL, EEOC, and other enforcement agencies.  In this post, I’ll give you a high level overview of what I think we are going to see. NLRB:...
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NLRB Finds "At Will" Disclaimers in Employee Handbook to be Legal

Eric Paltell
Eric Paltell
11/02/2012
Agency Activity, Labor Law
On October 31, 2012, the NLRB did something it has not done too often in recent years: it delivered some good news to employers.  In two Memoranda from the Board’s Division of Advice, the Board found “at will” disclaimers  in employee handbooks to be lawful.   In so doing, the Board contrasted the disclaimers with one that was struck down  by an Administrative Law Judge in February. The issue presented by the disclaimers is whether or not...
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New Jersey Employers Have A New Posting Requirement

Randi Klein Hyatt
Randi Klein Hyatt
10/19/2012
Agency Activity, State Law
The New Jersey State Assembly has amended the New Jersey Equal Pay Act to require employers with 50 or more employees to “conspicuously post” a notice of employees’ rights to be free from gender discrimination with respect to wages, compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.  The new posting requirement is scheduled to take effect November 21, 2012.  The New Jersey Department of Labor, however, still needs to...
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New York Expands Scope of Permissible Employer Deductions from Wages

Eric Paltell
Eric Paltell
09/19/2012
Agency Activity, Legislative Developments, Wage & Hour
For almost 50 years, New York has had one of the most restrictive state laws on deductions from wages.  Under Labor Law Section 193, wage deductions were permissible only when required by law or limited to “payments for insurance premiums, pension or health or welfare benefits, contributions to charitable organizations, payments for United States bonds, payments for dues or assessments to a labor organization, and similar payments for the benefit...
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NLRB Places New Restrictions on Social Media Policies

Eric Paltell
Eric Paltell
09/14/2012
Agency Activity, Labor Law, Social Media
As readers of this blog know, the National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel has had employer social media policies in his proverbial crosshairs for the past 18 months. Over that time period, the Acting General Counsel issued three Reports outlining his views on the legality of employer social media policies, generally finding them to be unlawful when the policy used generalized language to prohibit employees from making critical...
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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Will Target Hiring and Recruitment Discrimination

Randi Klein Hyatt
Randi Klein Hyatt
09/10/2012
Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination
On September 4, 2012, the EEOC released its Draft Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2012-2016, and identified numerous high priority agenda items for the Plan.  Chasing systemic recruiting and hiring discrimination will be the agency’s first priority, and specifically identified pre-employment tests, background screens and date of birth screens in online applications as employment practices of particular interest. Its second priority is protecting...
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