Severance: Labor Board Prohibits Employers from Restricting Employee Speech in Severance Agreements -
In the Apple TV+ show Severance, employees of Lumon Industries may agree to a "severance" program in which non-work...more
4/6/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Construction Industry ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Former Employee ,
Harassment ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Offer Letters ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Remote Working ,
Safety Violations ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Unions ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a notice of a proposed rulemaking that would prohibit employers from enforcing non-compete agreements against all employees and would preempt state laws that...more
1/9/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants
Welcome to the 12th and final issue of the year for The Site Report.
Top Three Construction Disputes and How to Avoid Them -
Construction professionals sometimes feel as if it is déjà vu when it comes to disputes—and they...more
1/3/2023
/ 3-D Technology ,
3D Printing ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contractors ,
Drones ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Inspections ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Popular ,
Subcontractors ,
Technology ,
Unions ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Workplace Safety
In this fourth and final issue of SuperVision for 2022, we asked our Spilman Team to highlight some of the big labor and employment developments from 2022 and to preview issues they expect to see in 2023. Consider this our...more
12/15/2022
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Marijuana ,
Pay Transparency ,
PHRA ,
Remote Working ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
In late June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which had previously recognized a woman’s constitutional...more
The NLRB Proposes to Re-Re-Revise Its Joint Employer Standard -
On September 6, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the standard for determining joint employer status...more
9/9/2022
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchises ,
Gender Dysphoria ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Remote Working ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Unions
Recently, leading officials in the Biden administration have taken steps to prevent employers from sharing their lawful views on collective bargaining in order to aid union efforts to organize more employees. These actions...more
Where Does Employer Liability for Workplace Injuries in a Post-COVID Work End? Liable at Work, but Not Off-Site?
The COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic era saw an increase in the number of employees working from home. For...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) recently announced it was hiring 100 investigators and planned “vigorous” enforcement of wage and hour laws in the warehouse and logistics industries. The...more
The Impact of "Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021" on Employer's Arbitration Provisions -
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law H.R. 4445, “Ending Forced Arbitration...more
4/1/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Paternity Leave ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Late yesterday, the United States Senate approved a bill that will ban employers from requiring employees to settle sexual harassment and sexual assault claims in arbitration without the option of filing a civil lawsuit. The...more
Vaccine mandates and return-to-work scenarios seem to be the hot topics of the day, and with all hot topics, along comes litigation. Along with litigation, comes serious discussions by employers and organizations about how...more
9/20/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Remote Working ,
StubHub ,
Telecommuting ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
There has been a lot of labor activity in the past three months. President Biden announced the two appointees who would join National Labor Relations Board Chair Lauren McFerran to create a majority of Democrats on the Board....more
[co-author: Kelsie Wiltse]
Welcome to our third issue of the 2021 edition of SuperVision. It is no surprise that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is still causing issues -- and that certainly includes issues for employers....more
8/6/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
NLRB ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety
Welcome
With the second issue of the 2021 edition of SuperVision, we are focusing on "what's next." More than 100 days into Biden's Presidency and with more than 100 million Americans fully vaccinated from COVID-19, we...more
5/6/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Section 7 ,
Vaccinations ,
Website Accessibility ,
Workplace Safety
In March 2021, the National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel, Peter Sung Ohr, wrote a memorandum to the Board’s Regional Offices that called for “Vigorous Enforcement” of section 7 of the National Labor...more
In February 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (the "PRO Act"), codifying several Obama-era decisions and rulemakings that facilitate union organizing and make it easier for...more
We are pleased to bring you our first SuperVision issue of the year. 2021 is anticipated to be a year of changes -- from a new presidential administration to a new phase of COVID-19 and vaccines -- and we are embracing that...more
This 27th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, sees us start with a discussion of a trend toward class actions, with later discussions on two key areas -- insurance coverage disputes and...more
10/13/2020
/ Audits ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Civil Liability ,
Class Action ,
Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Emergency Powers ,
Executive Orders ,
Firemen ,
Governor Hogan ,
Governor Whitmer ,
Governor Wolf ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
MI Supreme Court ,
Nursing Homes ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Patent Infringement ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Refunds ,
SCOTUS ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Sick Employees ,
Students ,
Tuition ,
Universities ,
Waivers ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Death
COVID-19 and Unprecedented: Litigation Insights, Issue 23 -
This 23rd edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, sees us returning from a brief Labor Day break. The spate of lawsuits...more
9/18/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Colleges ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Cruise Ships ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governors ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Negligence ,
Nursing Homes ,
Price Gouging ,
Retaliation ,
Universities ,
Workplace Safety
Human resource professionals all know of the obligation to complete a Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of a newly hired employee. To verify a newly hired employee’s identity, the employee must...more
4/6/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Relief Measures ,
Remote Working ,
Verification Requirements
The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") is expected to rewrite its rules protecting employees who violate employers' policies when they use profane, racist or sexist language. In September, the NLRB requested public...more
Welcome to the fourth quarter edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter from Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Law Group.
Just as we were going to press, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") issued two...more
12/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Governor Wolf ,
Internal Investigations ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Profanity ,
Public Comment ,
Public Policy ,
Racist Remarks ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Self-Defense ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Communication ,
Workplace Investigations
In a recent opinion letter, the United States Department of Labor concluded that workers who use a “virtual marketplace” business – similar to Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, or Rover – are independent contractors and not...more
6/19/2019
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
Right to Control ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Wage and Hour
The Editor's Note -
...In this edition of SuperVision, Carrie Grundmann discusses EEO1 requirements, Mitch Rhein discusses the DOL's latest on the virtual marketplace, and Chelsea Thompson explains a recent United States...more
6/17/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Independent Contractors ,
Pay Data ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Waivers