Perspectives on Labor, Employment & OSHA

What can employers do if an employee struggles to be understood by the company’s client base because of his or her heavy foreign accent?  When can employers take action because the employee’s lack of English fluency is affecting job performance and the company as a whole? 

Beginning September 3, 2015, New York City employers will no longer be able to consider an individual’s credit history as part of a background check in hiring or employment decisions.

On May 7, 2015, 14 Spanish-speaking employees filed suit in California state court against their employer, Gate Gourmet for harassment and discrimination on the basis of national origin arising out of the alleged prohibited use of the Spanish language on the job.

In an important victory for employees, the en banc Fourth Circuit held that use of a racial slur twice within a 24-hour period could support Title VII hostile work environment and retaliation claims.

OSHA substantially revised the 1994 Hazard Communication Standard in 2012 and by June 1, 2015 most employers have to be in full compliance with the new requirements.

Arent Fox LLP is proud to announce the publication of a comprehensive and definitive book for health care industry leaders focused on risk management and litigation.

A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court issued a blow to the EEOC by ruling that a court may enforce the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) mandatory duty to conciliate discrimination claims before filing suit.

On April 14, 2015, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed into law a measure that extends the applicability of the state’s anti-discrimination laws to unpaid interns.

Employers in New York are bound by a law that requires them to pay workers who report for scheduled shifts at least four hours of pay, even if managers send them home earlier.

Federal contractors are subject to a variety of employment-related laws and regulations as part of the price of doing business with the government.

On March 24, 2015, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed into law S.B. 426, the Fair and Open Competition in Governmental Construction Act.

California’s 4th District Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, invalidating the portion of California IWC Wage Order No. 5 that permitted non-exempt health care employees to waive a second meal period for shifts longer than 12 hours.

In its budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016, the Obama Administration has asked Congress to increase civil penalties for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. As the proposal notes, OSH Act civil penalties have been increased only once since the law was passed 44 years ago.

In this episode of Fashion Counsel, Partner Anthony Lupo talks with L&E Partner Michael L. Stevens about key issues fashion companies should consider when approaching employees about their social media activities.

American Idol Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips filed a petition with the CA Labor Commissioner, arguing producer of Idol unlawfully acted as a “talent agency.”

In addition to reporting all employee fatalities within eight hours, employers will now also have to report work-related in-patient hospitalizations of one or more employees, amputations, and physical eye loss within 24 hours of the incident.

Should you choose federal litigation or arbitration? In arbitration, parties to a dispute agree to submit the dispute for a decision to a neutral third party who is not a public official. Advantages include limited discovery while disadvantages include narrower grounds for appeal.

On December 30, 2014, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R), signed Public Law 414 into law, which excludes college athletes from the definition of “public employees” who are entitled to collectively bargain in Michigan.

On December 15, 2014, a divided National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) published its controversial Final Rule on Representation-Case Procedures (the Rule).

In order to prevent employee theft, some employers — particularly in the retail arena — require their employees to undergo security screenings before leaving the employer’s facilities.

in a radical departure from settled National Labor Relations Board (the Board or NLRB) precedent, a sharply divided NLRB ruled in a 3-2 decision that a policy limiting the use of an employee’s work email to work-only purposes violated the National Labor Relations Act (the Act or NLRA).

The Chicago City Council, by a vote of 44-5, approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to boost Chicago’s minimum wage to $13 per hour by mid-2019.

On November 25, 2014, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the controversial “Retail Workers Bill of Rights.”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently affirmed a decision of the Administrative Review Board of the Department of Labor, which had determined that a company’s disclosure of the identity of an SEC whistleblower.

The D.C. Court of Appeals, the District of Columbia’s highest court, recently vacated and remanded a trial court’s decision granting judgment as a matter of law to the District after the trial court concluded that the Plaintiff had failed to present a prima facie case of retaliation.