If the NLRB finds that you have committed an unfair labor practice (and maybe more than once), just what can it do? In Noah’s Ark Processors, a three-member panel of the board recently took an opportunity to pronounce available punishments for repeat labor offenders, and it was not shy. An administrative law judge determined

Workplace hair discrimination is a topic that has floated through the media for the past several years. To prohibit discrimination, California has implemented the “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act.” Specifically, California’s CROWN Act amends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), an act that functions to prohibit specified discriminatory

In Glacier Northwest, Inc. v.  Int’l Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union 174, the Washington Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether a union is responsible for property damage incident to a strike. How does that issue arise? Let’s just suppose that your company is involved in a bitter labor negotiation with the unionized workforce.

If you are considering using video cameras or other surveillance in your workplace, state law might have something to say about it. There are many reasons you might want to use video cameras in your workplace – employee safety, insurance benefits, customer service quality assurance, to name a few. However, don’t forget that state law

What’s Your Vax Status? New Requirements for Federal Employees and ContractorsWith Delta variant infections on the rise, the Biden administration recently announced that “every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status,” and that anyone who “does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask on the job no matter their geographic location,

Race and National Origin Discrimination Claims Cover Discrimination Based on All Races or National OriginsEmployers seeking to diversify their workforces need to remember that Title VII’s prohibition on class-based discrimination still applies — even if your motives are pure. The EEOC announced that it settled a lawsuit in which it alleged that a company was discriminating in favor of Hispanic job applicants over black, white, and Asian applicants.

The

New Administration, New DOL Approach: Department Pulls Back Trump Rulemaking LimitationsWith the new Biden administration now in place, the Department of Labor (DOL) has withdrawn a Trump era measure on guidance documents. Following a recent Executive Order, the DOL issued a final rule on January 27 to rescind the Trump DOL’s prior rule. The result will likely be less public involvement in DOL guidance.

Background

Sixth Circuit Scrubs Attempted Snub of Arbitration of Grubhub Paystub HubbubThere have been many examples of the tension between the “gig economy” and traditional labor laws. Most of the companies like Uber or Grubhub choose to classify their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees, which eliminates obligations like overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Seventh Circuit this week dealt with such a

Unpaid Interns and a Lunch Order Gone Bad: Jury Returns FLSA Retaliation Verdict Against Martina McBride’s Production CompanyA February 2020 jury verdict against county music star Martina McBride’s production company highlights – albeit indirectly – the perils of unpaid internship programs and the issues they can cause under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Facts

Martina McBride and her husband, John, own Blackbird Studios, which hired Richard Hanson as its operations

Whistleblower Activity Drives False Claims Act Suits in 2019Companies that work with the federal government (think government contracts, grant funding, and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements) need to stay up to date on the federal False Claims Act (FCA). Employee whistleblowers continue to use the FCA as one of their prime tools to bring actions against their employers. In 2019, whistleblowers filed 636 new