On September 15, 2023, a new law was signed in New York that prohibits employers from requiring that employees assign certain intellectual property rights to their employer. This new law impacts policies and practices that...more
The past several weeks have seen significant action from the major federal agencies involved with employment law: EEOC, NLRB, DOL, and OSHA. In today's new episode, Mike Schmidt will highlight the direction these agencies...more
4/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Evan Armstrong from the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) joins Mike Schmidt to talk about the significant PRO Act that was introduced in Congress and that will dramatically alter labor issues such as the use of...more
2/25/2021
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Boycotts ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Misclassification ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Secondary Boycott ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
The New York City Council has proposed additional legislation that would have a major impact on businesses falling within the broad definition of “fast food establishments” and has scheduled a hearing on the bills for...more
2/12/2020
/ Advance Notice ,
American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
At-Will Employment ,
City Councils ,
Covered Entities ,
Employee Rights ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoffs ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Private Right of Action ,
Punitive Damages ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Penalties ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules ,
Wrongful Termination
In this first new episode of 2020 (Season 4), we look at the 15 hot topics your company should have on your list to think about....more
1/10/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
We're back! This brand new episode addresses the 10 developments you may have missed from this past summer of 2018, including employees secretly recording the workplace, new non-compete legislation, the unstoppable #MeToo...more
9/11/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Opinion Letter ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media Policy ,
State Labor Laws ,
Video Recordings ,
Wage and Hour
“It’s the Relationships, Stupid.” This final episode of 2017 looks back at the topics and guests from volume 1 of the podcast, and somehow ties former President Bill Clinton to today’s operative premise in employer/employee...more
Thought 2017 would end quietly? The month of December has seen several stunning decisions by the NLRB which impact Obama-era precedent, and which will impact employers and employees going forward in 2018. Joining this episode...more
12/22/2017
/ Boeing ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Obama Administration ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Unions ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
Michael Schmidt, vice chair of Cozen O'Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, discusses how to engage your employees in today’s unique workplace and navigate a multi-jurisdictional set of employment laws. This episode...more
10/23/2017
/ Code of Conduct ,
Discipline ,
Diversity ,
Employee Engagement ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Political Expression ,
Productivity ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Reputation Management ,
Social Media Policy ,
Surveys ,
Technology ,
Termination ,
Workplace Communication
This episode replays an interview of the podcast host, Mike Schmidt, that was originally aired on SiriusXM Channel 111, The Business Channel. Mike discusses the nature of adverse actions taken by employers due to employee...more
I don’t know if you are or aren’t. That’s probably for a different timeforhardselfassessmentlawblog.com (wish I had purchased that domain). However, I do know that your employees apparently can call their manager a nasty...more
Unlike many issues, it seems that at least one issue (so far) has the NLRB on the same page as a recent court decision: whether clicking “like” on Facebook amounts to substantive, protectable speech. In my earlier blog posts...more
Here’s the truth: we are a litigious society. For a lot of reasons beyond the scope of this blog, a smarter workforce with ever-increasing access to information and resources continues to file employment lawsuits in record...more
6/12/2014
/ Automotive Industry ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Obscenity ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Termination ,
Trucking Industry
The NLRB continues to push for a share of the employment law spotlight. It also continues to act in a way that shows why its “precedent” is truly only “precedent” when the political winds don’t change.
...more
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about how the NLRB continues to have problems with policies and practices that prohibit employees from engaging in vague, undefined behavior that could constitute “protected concerted...more
Employers operating in New York City should be reminded of two significant additions to the checklist of employment obligations that will become effective in the coming weeks....more
Last week began this series of five posts to highlight five developments from this past summer in the area of social media and employment law. In Part 3 today: If an employee’s Facebook post can reasonably support an adverse...more
Yesterday began this series of five posts to highlight five developments from this past summer in the area of social media and employment law....more