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Employer’s Use of DNA Test to Catch Employee Engaging in Inappropriate Workplace Behavior Violates Federal Law, Says U.S. District Judge

May 14, 2015 | Blog | By George Patterson

If someone continually, yet anonymously, defecated on the floor of your workplace, you’d probably want to use any and all legal means at your disposal to identify and discipline the perpetrator.  Your methods might include surveillance or perhaps some form of forensic or other testing to link the offensive conduct to a specific individual.
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U.S. Department of Labor Re-Proposes Rules Governing the Definition of “Fiduciary”: Part 1: The Rule and its Exceptions

May 14, 2015 | Blog

The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued proposed regulations that make sweeping changes to the definition of the term “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  To call this proposal controversial is an understatement.
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NLRB Holds Firm on its View that Class/Collective Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Violate the NLRA

May 11, 2015 | Blog

Despite overwhelming judicial disapproval, the NLRB simply will not relent in its view that mandatory arbitration agreements containing class/collective action waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act.
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Quick Update on the Obama Administration's Efforts to Update the FLSA White Collar Exemptions

May 6, 2015 | Blog

As has been widely reported, President Obama has ordered the US Department of Labor to updated existing federal regulations on overtime in order to account for the changing nature of the workplace and to allow both workers and businesses to better understand and apply the exemptions.
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Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC: Supreme Court Holds EEOC Conciliation Efforts Are Subject to Limited Judicial Review

May 5, 2015 | Blog | By Robert Sheridan

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court said that conciliation efforts by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are subject to limited judicial review.
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These Taxi Drivers Are Not Employees Says Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

May 5, 2015 | Blog

We have been following the high-publicity battle between Uber and Lyft, on the one hand, and the drivers on the other, over whether the drivers are properly classified as independent contractors.  Uber and Lyft argue they are mere technology companies facilitating the connections between drivers and would-be passengers.
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Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office Issues Much-Anticipated Proposed Regulations on Massachusetts Sick Time Law

May 5, 2015 | Blog | By Jill Collins

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has issued proposed regulations to the Massachusetts Earned Sick Leave Law, which was approved by voters in November 2014 and goes into effect on July 1, 2015 – less than two months from now.
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New York City Aims to Strengthen Its Enforcement of Human Rights Law; Paired Testing Employment Discrimination Investigations on the Way

April 29, 2015 | Blog

Mayor de Blasio recently signed a series of bills that, among other things, require the New York City Human Rights Commission – the agency responsible for enforcing the New York City Human Rights Law – to conduct employment discrimination investigations using the paired testing method.  This is the Commission’s version of a sting operation.
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New York Federal Court “Likes” the Use of Social Media to Notify Class Members in Wage and Hour Action

April 29, 2015 | Blog

In what appears to be a sign of things to come, a federal court in New York recently approved the use of social media to notify potential class members who were more likely to be reached that way rather than by more traditional forms of notice, such as regular mail.
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Will the Second Circuit “Like” the NLRB’s Recent Stance on Social Media? An Update on the Facebook “Like” Firing Case

April 28, 2015 | Blog | By David Katz

The NLRB last week filed its brief at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the well-publicized Facebook “Like” firing case, Three D, LLC v. NLRB.  Prior to the appeal, we discussed the NLRB’s August 2014 ruling here as part of a broader discussion of the Board’s recent crackdown on employers’ “overbroad” social media policies.
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Second Circuit Synchs Up With Its Sister Courts: Now Says Employees May Premise FLSA Retaliation Claim on Oral Complaints to Employer

April 23, 2015 | Blog

This week, in Greathouse v. JHS Security, Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that employees may pursue a Fair Labor Standards Act retaliation claim premised upon an oral complaint to their employer – a clear expansion of its earlier interpretation of the law.
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The EEOC Provides Welcome Guidance on Employment-Based Wellness Plans

April 22, 2015 | Blog | By Patricia Moran

On April 16, 2015, the EEOC published proposed regulations setting forth its position on the use of physical examinations under employment-based wellness programs.
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California Non-Compete Update: No Re-Hire Provisions May Be in Jeopardy, Especially for Large Employers

April 22, 2015 | Blog | By Brent Douglas

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently sent a case back to a district court to revisit its enforcement of a settlement agreement that prohibited an employee from future employment with the employer and any company the employer later acquired or served.
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California District Court Holds That LinkedIn’s “Reference Searches” Function Is Not a Consumer Report Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

April 21, 2015 | Blog

A Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of California recently handed down an important decision regarding the application of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to one of LinkedIn’s search products.
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New York City Will Prohibit Most Employers From Basing Employment Decisions on an Applicant or Employee’s Consumer Credit History

April 20, 2015 | Blog

The New York City Council passed the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act last Thursday.  It amends the New York City Human Rights Law to prohibit most employers from making employment decisions based on an employee or applicant’s consumer credit history.
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Figuring Out Cheryl’s Birthday: Employment Law Edition

April 16, 2015 | Blog

First it was the blue and gold dress.  Now, the next viral internet sensation centers on the unlikeliest of events: Cheryl’s birthday.
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En Banc Sixth Circuit Decision Holds That Telecommuting Was Not a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act for Ford Employee

April 15, 2015 | Blog | By Dan Long

Last Friday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc held that telecommuting up to four days a week was not a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for a disabled Ford Motor Co. employee.
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New York Federal Court Applies New York City Human Rights Law’s Liability Provision to Employer’s Agent

April 14, 2015 | Blog

The New York City Human Rights Law specifically says that an employer’s agent can be held liable for discrimination, but its liability provision doesn't address the circumstances under which that agent may be held liable for the discriminatory actions of the agent’s employee.  A New York Federal Court has now addressed this gap in the law.
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NLRB Holds Employee’s Obscene Facebook Post Criticizing Supervisor Is Protected

April 14, 2015 | Blog | By George Patterson

We have written previously about the expanding scope of social media activities that the National Labor Relations Act protects and the tight limits the NLRB places on an employer’s ability to discipline employees for work-related communications that take place online.
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Sixth Circuit Decision Refusing to Enforce Collective Action Waiver Included in Separation Agreement Remains Intact; Supreme Court Declines to Review

April 9, 2015 | Blog

This week, the Supreme Court disappointed many employers by declining to determine whether the Fair Labor Standards Act does or does not provide employees with a non-waivable substantive right to bring a collective action.
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