Workforce Bulletin

Last week, the leaders of the grain industry in North Dakota gathered for their annual conference, this year the Centennial gathering of the North Dakota Grain Dealers Association.  I had the privilege of speaking at the conference, and share some background about OSHA's increasing focus on the grain handling industry, a review of grain handlers' rights vis-a-vis OSHA, and some strategies and tips for preparing for and managing an OSHA inspection.  I also had the opportunity to speak about OSHA's approach to inspections in the grain industry at the National Grain & Feed ...

By:      Ana S. Salper

No governmental body has been more active in addressing social media’s impact on the workplace than the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”). For both unionized and non-unionized employers, the Board has been aggressively scrutinizing the contours of employer discipline of employees for their activities on social media sites, and has regulated and constricted the scope and breadth of employer social media policies. Following his first report in August 2011, National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon has now released a ...

by Allen B. Roberts, Amy J. Traub, and Christina J. Fletcher

Religious organizations and those they employ have anticipated guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court's first opinion addressing the ministerial exception in the employment discrimination context. With its January 11, 2012, decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch. v. EEOC, U.S., No. 10-553, the Court clarified that the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses bar the government from interfering with the "decision of a religious group to fire one of its ministers." The Court ...

By:  Evan Rosen

As Hospitalty Labor and Employment Law Blog readers are aware, on August 30, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a rule requiring employers to post notices informing employees of their right to join or form a union.  We blogged about the impact of the notice and its requirements on hospitality employers here.  The rule was originally supposed to go into effect in November, but was subsequently pushed back to January 31, 2012 as a result of mounting criticism against the rule.  Indeed, several lawsuits have been filed by business ...

By: Kara M. Maciel

As hoteliers and hospitality employers know, the upcoming March 15, 2012 deadline for the 2010 ADA Standards will have significant impact on hotel operations. Some of the regulations involve new features that previously had not been regulated by the ADA, including swimming pools, spas, exercise facilities, golf and sauna and steam rooms.  All newly constructed recreational facilities built after March 15, 2012 must comply with the new standards; whereas, existing facilities must meet the new standards as soon as readily achievable.  For hoteliers, some of ...

The Employer Defense Law Blog welcomes a new sibling!  The Health Employment and Labor (HEAL) blog will include updates about timely issues related to labor and employment issues that affect health care and life sciences companies.

The HEAL blog is an idea that stems from the Epstein Becker Green’s Health Employment and Labor Group, which combines the strengths of the Firm’s two founding national practices – Health Care and Life Sciences and Labor and Employment. EBG attorneys have a deep knowledge of both the labor and employment field and wanted to create a blog that would ...

The Health Employment and Labor (HEAL) blog will include updates about timely issues related to labor and employment issues that affect health care and life sciences companies.
 
The HEAL blog is an idea that stems from the Epstein Becker Green’s Health Employment and Labor Group, which combines the strengths of the Firm’s two founding national practices – Health Care and Life Sciences and Labor and Employment. EBG attorneys have a deep knowledge of both the labor and employment field and wanted to create a blog that would quickly inform and educate employers about the ...

by Marisa S. Ratinoff, Susan Gross Sholinsky, Eric A. Cook, and Jennifer A. Goldman

California’s Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011 (“CAWTPA”) went into effect on January 1, 2012. The CAWTPA requires most private-sector employers to provide notice to non-exempt employees of certain wage payment information, among other things. As we previously reported (see Act Now Advisory “New California Laws Increase Penalties for Employee Misclassification and Wage Theft”), the CAWTPA requires the Labor Commissioner (“Commissioner”) to create a template for employers to ...

by Donald S. Krueger & D. Martin Stanberry

New York state courts appear primed to resolve important questions about competitive bidding for public contracts in New York City and the ability of contractors to successfully challenge city officials’ actions that directly affect the wage and benefit components of their bids.

Under New York law, a contractor awarded a public contract by the state or a municipality must pay the “prevailing rate” for wages and fringe benefits to their workers performing services under that contract. These prevailing rates are established by the ...

by James P. Flynn

On Monday, January 9, 2012, Governor Chris Christie signed into the law the New Jersey Trade Secrets Act (NJTSA), the Garden State’s version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA).  New Jersey, thus, becomes the forty-seventh state to adopt some form of UTSA.  While the New Jersey Act will promote some level of uniformity in the approach to trade secrets issues, New Jersey specific changes to the uniform act promise that this statute will build upon, rather than depart from, New Jersey’s common law tradition of protection of trade secrets and other valuable business ...

In accordance with the briefing schedule issued last December, initial briefs have been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court for its judicial review of certain issues under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”).  The issues to be reviewed by the Court include whether (i) the minimum coverage provisions under PPACA and individual mandate to buy health insurance is a valid exercise of Congress’ power under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, (ii) the Anti-Injunction Act will prevent a ruling from the Court until such time as a tax is actually collected under ...

By Eric J. Conn and Amanda R. Strainis-Walker

One of the questions we are most frequently asked by small employers is about the so-called "Rule of 10"; i.e., the long-perpetuated myth that OSHA does not have jurisdiction over employers or workplaces with fewer than 10 employees.  This is a commonly misunderstood policy, so let's set the record straight.

The short answer is, unless you are a small farming operation, OSHA does have jurisdiction in almost every circumstance.  There are some partial exemptions and exclusions from certain types of OSHA activity, such as ...

by John F. Fullerton III

It seems likely that the struggling economy will continue to be a primary driver of labor and employment law issues in 2012, particularly in the financial services industry. While there are many important legal issues that will arise in this environment, employers in the financial sector should consider five issues as potential hot button topics for the coming year:

• Continuing, but targeted, reductions-in-force
• Independent contractor misclassification
• Overtime exemption misclassification
• Revolving door restrictions on hiring government employees

by:  Matthew Sorensen

 1.      Deadline For Compliance With New ADA Accessibility Rules Approaching:

 On March 15, 2012, hospitality establishments will be required to be in compliance with the standards for accessibility set by the Department of Justice’s final regulations under Title III of the ADA (2010 ADA Standards). The regulations made significant changes to the requirements for accessible facilities, and will require additional training of staff on updated policies and procedures in response to inquiries from guests with disabilities. Among the most significant ...

by Maxine H. Neuhauser and Amy E. Hatcher

With the start of 2012, New Jersey employers may find it useful to review the notification requirements relating to employees' workplace rights and responsibilities under state law. This Act Now Advisory serves as a reminder and summary of New Jersey's notification requirements applicable to most employers.

Employers are mandated under New Jersey law to display official posters informing employees of the law relating to their rights and responsibilities. An employer that fails to comply with these requirements may face monetary fines and ...

By Casey M. Cosentino and Eric J. Conn

 According to statistics recently reported by OSHA, the number of workplace inspections conducted by federal OSHA in FY 2011 fell to a total of 40,215, down 778 from 2010.  The agency attributes this slight decline in the number of inspections to the fact that many inspections, particularly those focused on health hazards and recordkeeping compliance, require more time per inspection.  Gone are the days when the Compliance Officer drops by for a cup of coffee.  Now, OSHA wants to know which office in which they should set up because they are going to be ...