Insights on Labor, Employment & OSHA

It is unlikely that any ruling by a Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ever sparked such nationwide commentary as that of Region 13 Regional Director Peter Sung Ohr in ruling that Northwestern University scholarship football players are “employees” of the University.

Following his recent controversial decision that scholarship football athletes at Northwestern University are employees who can unionize.

By a 2-1 vote, a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB or Board) ordered a California hospital found to have bargained in bad faith to reimburse the Union for its negotiating expenses and extended the certification year by another 12 month period.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia recently dismissed a former university employee’s claims under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (the DCHRA) that she was wrongfully discharged for opposing gay marriage.

On April 13, 2014, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) signed a law (S.B. 365) that will limit exposure for employers who hire employees with a criminal conviction history.

In 2009, President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which, among other things, extended the statute of limitations for claims against an employer accused of paying an employee less based on her sex.

On April 7, 2014, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Maryland Minimum Wage Act of 2014 (the Act), increasing the state’s minimum wage rate to $10.10 per hour by July 1, 2018.

The Amalgamated Transit Union sought to organize the bus mechanics at the Respondent First Transit’s Phoenix facility in February 2010. The Union already represented the Respondent’s bus drivers, fuelers, and cleaners at the facility.

On March 27, 2014, the Maryland House of Delegates passed the Fairness to all Marylanders Act of 2014 (the Act), which expands upon Maryland’s already broad anti-discrimination law.

“Northwestern believes strongly that our student-athletes are not employees, but students. Unionization and collective bargaining are not the appropriate methods to address the concerns raised by student-athletes.”

Finds Unlawful Coercion and Impression of Surveillance in Nonunion Workplace.

This podcast will explore how employers can effectively protect against unfair post-employment competition without exposing their businesses to unexpected risks.

On February 26, voting 46-5 in favor of a new and far more expansive bill — the “Expansion of Earned Sick Time Act” (the Act) — that will eventually apply to nearly all New York City employers.

Following a trend of so-called “ban the box” legislation, on February 17, 2014, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee (D) signed the Fair Chance Ordinance (the Act) into law.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) published a Notice in the Federal Register today inviting interested persons to attend a public meeting of the Board on April 10–11, 2014.

On February 12, 2014, President Barack Obama issued his controversial and long anticipated Executive Order requiring contractors on new federal contracts to pay a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour by January 1, 2015.

H-1B status is a non-immigrant status that allows a foreign national to work for a specific employer in a specific job at a specific worksite, for a specific period of time. Employers must file a petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of a foreign national.

Following a trend previously reported in our January 31, 2014 alert, the City of Philadelphia has become the latest jurisdiction to require covered employers to reasonably accommodate pregnant workers.

By a narrow 3-2 margin, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or Notice) on February 6, 2014 to amend its rules and regulations on representation election procedures under Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act).

Attention employers with employees working in the United States on L-1 (intra-company transferee) visas: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun conducting worksite visits under its Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) site inspection program.

On January 21, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation that adds pregnancy as a protected status under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for female employees affected by pregnancy.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently ruled that even a temporary impairment caused by an injury can constitute a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA or Act). Summers v. Altarum Institute Corp., 2014 WL 243425 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2014).

On January 28, 2014, the National College Players Association (NCPA) filed a petition at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Chicago, seeking recognition as a labor union. The petition is the first of its kind seeking union recognition for college athletes.

On January 15, 2014, District of Columbia Mayor Vince Gray signed a bill that will increase the District’s minimum wage to $11.50 per hour by 2016.