The Administrative Task Force plays a critical role in keeping our OSHA practice current and vibrant. We follow developments daily and we work together to analyze the impact that proposed and actual changes will have on the law in general and specifically on our client’s industries. Employers today face an unprecedented range of workplace safety and OSHA legal issues as government increases worker safety and health regulation and demands meticulous reviews by its OSHA inspection force.
A Mississippi Bankruptcy Court recently addressed several employer defenses to liability under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”), which is noteworthy in the context of the current economy. In re FF Acquisition Corp. d/b/a Flexible Flyer, 423 B.R. 502 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. January 20, 2010).
Continue Reading...The drama in late 2008 surrounding the factory shutdown of Republic Window & Doors in Chicago, Illinois, highlighted for banks and other financial institutions the potential backlash when a debtor business fails. In that situation, the factory's lender faced a public relations challenge when it declined (with good reason) to continue a line of credit for a failing company. The company said it could not continue because its lender was not willing to continue funding its operations, and its employees staged a sit in to protest the bank's action. Illinois Governor (at that time) Rod Blagojevich even threatened to discontinue all state business with the bank.
In addition to public relations risks in such situations, banks and other financial institutions face significant risk if they take steps to intervene in debtors' businesses. A recent article published by the Georgia Bankers Association highlighted this threat. As noted in the article, when a financial institution takes aggressive action by getting involved in the management of a debtor's business, it may find itself in the shoes of the debtor for purposes of employment law.
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