August 2017 E-Update

 In

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Important New Agency Documents for Employers

This month, two more Obama-era regulatory initiatives suffered reversals – the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s revised and expanded EEO-1 form and its wellness program regulations….Read More.

Third Circuit Rejects NLRB’s Test for Supervisory Status of LPNs

Under the National Labor Relations Act, supervisors are not eligible to unionize and the issue of supervisory status in healthcare organizations is one that has been hotly debated over the years. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit handed a victory to employers by rejecting the NLRB’s test for such status….Read More.

Employer Not Necessarily Required to Compensate for Off-Duty Work on Mobile Devices

Addressing an employment issue of interest in an increasingly electronic world, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found that a police department was not required to compensate police officers for performing work on their mobile Blackberry devices while off-duty…Read More.

 

TAKE NOTE

Reminder About Minimum Wage Increases in Maryland and D.C.     

As of July 1, 2017, Maryland, Montgomery County, and the District of Columbia had an increase in the minimum wage rate….Read More.

Denial of Lateral Transfer May Be Adverse Employment Action

In order to bring a claim for discrimination under Title VII, a plaintiff must show that he was subject to a materially adverse employment action, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has now held that the denial of a request for a lateral transfer may constitute such materially adverse action….Read More.

Weingarten Right Does Not Extend to Voluntary Investigatory Interviews

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that a union member’s Weingarten right to union representation does not extend to investigatory interviews that the employees chooses – but is not required – to attend….Read More.

Employer May Be Liable for Harassment by Non-Employee

A recent case reminds employers that, under Title VII, they must protect their employees from harassment by outside third parties, and that their knowledge about such harassment may depend on low-level supervisors….Read More.

Racist Comments on Picket Line are Protected

In another decision evidencing the tension between protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act and prohibited activity under Title VII and other antidiscrimination laws, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found that an employer violated the Act when it fired a worker on the picket line who yelled racist comments at a group of African-American replacement workers….Read More.

 

TOP TIP: Lessons from the EEOC’s Lawsuit Regarding UPS’ Automatic Termination Policy

UPS recently settled – for $2 million – a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding its policy that automatically terminated employees who had been on medical leave for 12 months. This case reminds employers to avoid implementation of inflexible leave policies, and the parties’ consent decree further offers guidance to employers on the reasonable accommodations process….Read More