Workforce Bulletin

By: Allen B. Roberts

I wrote the February 2013 version of Take 5 Views You Can Use, a newsletter published by the Labor and Employment practice of Epstein Becker Green. In it, I discuss an alternative view of five topics that are likely to impact hospitality employers in 2013 and beyond. One topic involved the potential for labor organizing by pop-up unions in break-out units.  

Despite some perceptions of cohesiveness and political acumen, influence and wherewithal following the 2012 election cycle, labor unions represent only about 7.3 percent of the private sector ...

By Michael Kun

We have written previously in this blog about California’s obscure “suitable seating” law, which requires that some employers provide “suitable seating” to some employees.

In short, the plaintiffs’ bar recently discovered a provision buried in California’s Wage Orders requiring employers to provide “suitable seating” to employees when the nature of their jobs would reasonably permit it. The provision was not designed to cover employees in the hospitality industry who often stand to show that they are ready to assist customers. Instead, it was ...

By Margaret C. Thering and Eric J. Conn

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit closed out 2012 with a decision that dealt a blow to employers defending against alleged violations of OSHA standards.  Specifically, in a December 5, 2012 decision in a case on appeal from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the Sixth Circuit upheld an OSHA citation that alleged that an employer failed to properly barricade the swing radius of a crane.  See All Erection & Crane Rental Corp. v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, No. 11-4242 (6th Cir. Dec. 5, 2012).

The January/February 2013 issue of Feed & Grain Magazine featured an article entitled “Severe Violator Enforcement Program Defies Constitution” authored by Eric J. Conn, the Head of EBG’s national OSHA Practice Group.  The article expands on a series of posts here on the OSHA Law Update blog regarding OSHA’s controversial Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”).

The article provides a detailed explanation about the SVEP, including:

1. The origin and intent of OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program;
2. the consequences to employers who “qualify” ...

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

February 1^st is an important annual OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping deadline for all U.S. employers, except for those with only ten or fewer employees or who operate in enumerated low hazard industries such as retail, service, finance, insurance or real estate (see the exempted industries at Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 1904).  Specifically, by February 1^st every year, employers are required by OSHA’s Recordkeeping regulations to:

1. Review their OSHA 300 Log;
2. Verify that the entries are complete and accurate;
3. Correct any ...

Epstein Becker Green is pleased to announce the availability of a Wage and Hour Division Investigation Checklist, which provides financial services employers with valuable information about wage and hour investigations and audits conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).  Like EBG’s first-of-its kind Wage and Hour App, which provides detailed information about federal and state laws, the Checklist is a free resource offered by EBG.

The Checklist provides step-by-step guidance on the following issues: preparation before a Wage and Hour Division investigation of the ...

Epstein Becker Green is pleased to announce the availability of a Wage and Hour Division Investigation Checklist, which provides hospitality employers with valuable information about wage and hour investigations and audits conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Like EBG’s first-of-its kind Wage and Hour App, which provides detailed information about federal and state laws, the Checklist is a free resource offered by EBG.

The Checklist provides step-by-step guidance on the following issues: preparation before a Wage and Hour Division investigation of the DOL; ...

Epstein Becker Green is pleased to announce the availability of a Wage and Hour Division Investigation Checklist, which provides retail employers with valuable information about wage and hour investigations and audits conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Like EBG’s first-of-its kind Wage and Hour App, which provides detailed information about federal and state laws, the Checklist is a free resource offered by EBG.

The Checklist provides step-by-step guidance on the following issues: preparation before a Wage and Hour Division investigation of the DOL; ...

In a time when employers do not receive much good news out of Washington D.C., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit may have given some very welcome relief to employers facing issues before the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "the Board") in light of recent precedent reversing NLRB decisions.

A recent settlement agreement between the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") and Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts explicitly extends the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") to individuals with severe allergies and autoimmune conditions such as celiac disease.