Workforce Bulletin

Late last year, I delivered a keynote address to the National Grain & Feed Association’s (NGFA) annual Country Elevator Conference regarding:

1. Why it is important for grain handlers to prepare now for an OSHA inspection;
2. What to do now to prepare for an OSHA inspection; and
3. How best to manage an OSHA inspection once it begins.

by Carrie Corcoran, Matthew T. Miklave, and Susan Gross Sholinsky

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") has issued a long-awaited final rule ("Final Rule"), which amends the regulation on the "reasonable factors other than age" ("RFOA") defense available under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"). The Final Rule is available at 29 C.F.R. Part 1625. The EEOC previously published proposed rules regarding the RFOA defense on March 31, 2008, and then on February 18, 2010. The Final Rule takes into account public comments received on those proposals.

By Kara M. Maciel

Sadly, workplace violence continues to be a topic that challenges many organizations.  Indeed, as the news reports continue to remind us, employees and non-employees often take out their aggression and violent acts within the workplace.  As the recent attacks at hospitals in Pittsburgh and in Washington, D.C. demonstrate, there remains a high rate of fatal and non-fatal assaults and violent acts committed within the workplace, and, in particular, within the healthcare industry.  One of the struggles that employers face is trying to prevent violent conduct by ...

by Carrie Corcoran, Matthew T. Miklave, and Susan Gross Sholinsky

 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") has issued a long-awaited final rule ("Final Rule"), which amends the regulation on the "reasonable factors other than age" ("RFOA") defense available under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"). The Final Rule is available at 29 C.F.R. Part 1625. The EEOC previously published proposed rules regarding the RFOA defense on March 31, 2008, and then on February 18, 2010. The Final Rule takes into account public comments received on those proposals.

The Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) on March 28, 2012 held that the whistleblower protection provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (“CPSIA” or “Act”) are not limited to those who raise concerns only as to a “consumer product” as defined in the Act, but extends to any matter falling within the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Saporito v. Publix Super Markets, Inc., ARB Case No. 10-073. The ARB has thereby significantly expanded the number of manufacturers, distributors and retailers whose employees ...

By:  John F. Fullerton III

This is the second in our series of posts on practice and procedure in employment-related arbitrations before FINRA.  Check back often for future posts, subscribe by e-mail (see the sidebar), or follow @FSemployer on Twitter so you don’t miss any updates!

As a general rule, it is more common to read about employers who have been sued in court by a former employee attempting to compel the claims into arbitration than an employer trying to compel arbitration claims to be filed in court.  Yet, under the occasionally overlooked FINRA Rule 13803, employers who ...

By Eric J. Conn and Casey M. Cosentino

For years, OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (“HazCom”) has been the standard most frequently cited against hotel and other hospitality employers.

In FY 2011 37 hotel companies were cited for violations of the HazCom Standard, including, primarily, alleged failures to:

(1) maintain a written Hazard Communication Program;

(2) ensure each container of hazardous chemicals (such as cleaning agents) is labeled, tagged, or marked;

(3) maintain a complete set of Material Safety Data Sheets (“MSDS’s”) for each hazardous ...

Michelle Capezza, our colleague at Epstein Becker Green, recently posted a useful summary of the JOBS Act, and we recommend it to our readers in the financial services industry.  See below for an excerpt and link.

On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act.  In light of the sharp decline in the number of companies entering the U.S. capital markets through IPOs over the last ten years, Congress recognized a need for this legislation since small companies are critical to economic growth and job creation.  To promote growth and ...

On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act or JOBS Act.  In light of the sharp decline in the number of companies entering the U.S. capital markets through IPOs over the last ten years, Congress recognized a need for this legislation since small companies are critical to economic growth and job creation.  To promote growth and assist small companies in gaining access to capital, the JOBS Act amends the securities laws in several ways, which include the following:

(i)                  Establishes a new category of issuers known as “Emerging Growth ...