Workforce Bulletin

Join us Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 9:00 am Eastern either by Webinar or in person for a complimentary briefing presented by Epstein Becker Green attorneys Eric J. Conn and Amanda R. Strainis-Walker of the Firm’s national OSHA Practice Group.

The briefing will cover actions that employers should take now to prepare their workplaces and workforce for unexpected visits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), review employers’ and employees’ rights during an OSHA inspection, and discuss inspection strategies to ensure the best possible outcome from ...

by Margaret C. Thering and Lauri F. Rasnick

Violence against women has been in the headlines lately – the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act is engendering vigorous debate, and as of last month, federal agencies were ordered to implement policies to assist their employees who are victims of domestic violence.  Also last month, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Injury Control Research Center at West Virginia University published a paper entitled “Workplace Homicides Among U.S. Women: The Role of Intimate Partner Violence” in the ...

By: Paul Rosenberg

Last week the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to uphold its controversial Specialty Healthcare decision.  The NLRB’s 3-1 split decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile, overturned a 1991 decision and held that an employer that challenges a proposed bargaining unit on the basis that it improperly excludes certain employees is required to prove that the excluded workers share “an overwhelming community of interest” with those in the proposed unit. 

The NLRB ...

By:  John F. Fullerton III

As a direct result of the financial crisis, an increasing number of states have enacted or are considering statutes that prohibit or restrict employers from obtaining and using credit reports for making hiring and other employment decisions.  Eight states have now passed such legislation - California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Washington and Vermont.  Similar legislation is pending in many other states - including New Jersey and New York - and bills have been introduced at the federal level as well.  In most states that have ...

by Margaret C. Thering and Lauri F. Rasnick

Violence against women has been in the headlines lately – the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act is engendering vigorous debate, and as of last month, federal agencies were ordered to implement policies to assist their employees who are victims of domestic violence.  Also last month, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Injury Control Research Center at West Virginia University published a paper entitled “Workplace Homicides Among U.S. Women: The Role of Intimate Partner Violence” in the ...

By Evan Rosen

Hospitality employers continue to get hit with class action lawsuits alleging that they are unlawfully taking the tip credit for their employees.  Under federal law, and the law of most states, an employer may pay less than the minimum wage to any employee who regularly and customarily receives tips.  The difference between the minimum wage and the hourly wage rate is called the "tip credit."  

This compensation system, when administered correctly, has the advantage of saving employers a significant sum of money.  But employers must implement ...

Epstein Becker Green is proud to announce that it has received the 2012 Chambers USA Award for Excellence in the Healthcare category. The results were announced at an awards dinner held on Thursday, June 7, 2012, in New York. Other firms nominated in the Healthcare category included Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Hogan Lovells US LLP; King & Spalding LLP; McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Ober Kaler Grimes & Shriver PC; and Proskauer Rose LLP.

The Chambers USA Awards for Excellence are based on research for the 2012 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and reflect ...

Epstein Becker Green is proud to announce that it has received the 2012 Chambers USA Award for Excellence in the Healthcare category. The results were announced at an awards dinner held on Thursday, June 7, 2012, in New York. Other firms nominated in the Healthcare category included Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Hogan Lovells US LLP; King & Spalding LLP; McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Ober Kaler Grimes & Shriver PC; and Proskauer Rose LLP.

The Chambers USA Awards for Excellence are based on research for the 2012 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and reflect ...

Read the Full Announcement

Epstein Becker Green is proud to announce that it has received the 2012 Chambers USA Award for Excellence in the Healthcare category. The results were announced at an awards dinner held on Thursday, June 7, 2012, in New York. Other firms nominated in the Healthcare category included Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Hogan Lovells US LLP; King & Spalding LLP; McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Ober Kaler Grimes & Shriver PC; and Proskauer Rose LLP.

 The Chambers USA Awards for Excellence are based on research for the 2012 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading ...

By Alexis M. Downs and Eric J. Conn

Although OSHA currently has no regulations specifically addressing Safety Incentive Programs, they have recently come under fire by OSHA because the Agency believes that such programs have a chilling effect on workplace injury reporting.  Incentive programs have been a serious focus of OSHA’s Director, David Michaels, since he assumed his position early in the Obama Administration.

Dr. Michaels explained that OSHA “strongly disapprove[s] of programs offering workers parties and prizes for not reporting injuries, or bonuses for managers ...