In the first four months of 2021, Virginia, New Mexico, New York and New Jersey passed laws legalizing or decriminalizing, in some form, recreational marijuana. Exactly how these laws will affect employers in these states is still an open question, but for now, employers should understand the nuances of the laws so they can prepare for the emerging reality that is legal marijuana.
Continue Reading The Trend Towards Legal Recreational Cannabis: Considerations for Employers
On December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its COVID-19 guidance with a new section pertaining to vaccinations. The updated release—“What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws”—discusses how employers who require vaccinations should respond to an employee who is unable or unwilling to receive a COVID-19 vaccination because of a disability or sincerely held religious belief.
Continue Reading EEOC Provides Guidance Regarding COVID-19 Vaccinations
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the inherent risks in holding large gatherings of people, the prospect of mail ballot elections has recently received considerable national attention. Typically, this attention is focused on how mail ballot elections might affect voter turnout or election results in state and federal elections and whether it might benefit one party over the other.
Continue Reading Mail Ballot Elections: The New “Preferred Method” for Holding Union Representation Elections?
The Department of Labor issued two opinion letters on Tuesday in response to specific inquiries that may nonetheless provide some clarity for employers in general.
Continue Reading DOL Addresses Training Pay and Per-Project Compensation in Two Opinion Letters
This summer, the National Labor Relations Board issued several pro-employer decisions, including two key decisions for employers involving misclassification of workers and property rights.
Continue Reading The NLRB Continues Its Trend of Employer-Friendly Decisions
On September 3, 2019, in First Student, Inc. v. NLRB, __ F.3d __ (D.C. Cir. 2019), the court upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s application of the “perfectly clear” doctrine in First Student Inc. v. NLRB, 366 NLRB No. 13 (February 6, 2018). The “perfectly clear” doctrine affects the right of a labor law successor, which acquires a unionized business, to set new terms and conditions of employment. Thus, it can have an important impact on the economics of the commercial transaction.
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Upholds NLRB’s “Perfectly Clear” Successor Doctrine
The National Labor Relations Board has issued the first part of its planned series of revisions to labor union election procedures. The revisions arrive five years after the Obama-era Board’s controversial 2014 changes that created the so-called “ambush election” procedures.
Continue Reading NLRB Issues First of Its Proposed Changes to Union Election Rules
In a recent advise memorandum, the National Labor Relations Board set forth its position that drivers for the rideshare company Uber are independent contractors, not employees, for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act.
Continue Reading Uber Drivers Not Employees According to NLRB Advice Memo
The current trend at both the state and federal levels is moving in the direction of mandatory paid family leave. For example, in recent years, 6 states (California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington) and the District of Columbia have enacted mandatory paid family leave benefits for employees. Moreover, at least 18 other states are currently considering some form of paid family leave legislation.
Continue Reading As State Paid Family Leave Laws Increase, U.S. Congress Considers Nationwide Paid Family Leave
In a rare win for plaintiffs seeking to avoid arbitration, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a trucking company’s attempt to compel arbitration in a driver’s proposed minimum wage class action. The Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption for interstate transportation workers applies not only to employees, but also to those classified as independent contractors.
Continue Reading SCOTUS Rejects Employer’s Attempt to Compel Arbitration of Independent Contractor’s Class Claim