March 2019 E-Update

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DOL Issues Opinion Letters on Designating FMLA Leave, as well as Volunteer Activities and State Law Exemptions Under the FLSA

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released three new opinion letters – one on the Family and Medical Leave Act and two on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). For more, click here.

More NLRB Advice Memos – Cooperation in Investigations, Workplace Policies, and Facebook Posts

The National Labor Relations Board’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) continues to issue Advice Memoranda, as it has regularly done for the past year or so. For more, click here.

NLRB’s General Counsel Issues Memos on Union Obligations

The General Counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board, Peter Robb, issued two General Counsel memos this month dealing primarily with unions’ obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (the Act). For more, click here.

Employee May Bring Hostile Work Environment Claim Under the ADA

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit joined several other federal Circuits in finding that hostile work environment claims are cognizable under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For more, click here.

No ADA Protection for Employee Whose Condition Was Triggered by Supervisor’s Management Style

Many employers struggle with employees who seek the accommodation of a new supervisor, alleging that their disability is caused or triggered by a particular supervisor. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found, however, that an employee whose medical condition was triggered by a specific supervisor was not, in fact, disabled within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act. For more, click here.

Lobbying Costs May Not Be Charged to Beck Objectors

The National Labor Relations Board held that union charges for lobbying activities violated the National Labor Relations Act because the activities were not related to the union’s representational duties to employees in the bargaining unit as to justify the compelled financial support of the activities by Beck objectors, who are employees paying only the portion of dues related to the union’s representational duties.  For more, click here.

NLRB Addresses Supervisory Status

In a case involving whether dispatchers are statutory supervisors under the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board addressed the issue of whether the dispatchers used “independent judgment” when assigning field employees to locations during power outages.  For more, click here.

NLRB Offers Guidance on When Employer Must Provide Financial Information to Union.

The National Labor Relations Board held that the employer did not violate Section 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to provide general financial information requested by the union, where there was no claimed inability to pay. For more, click here.

OFCCP Update – CSAL List, Focused Review FAQs, and Veterans’ Hiring Benchmark

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has had a busy month, with the issuance of items of interest to government contractors and subcontractors. For more, click here.

EEOC Update – Notice Posting Violation Penalties and the EEO-1 Pay Data Requirement

This month, there were some developments from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of interest to employers. For more, click here.

Plaintiff’s Failure to Show Equality of Work Dooms Equal Pay Case

A recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals offers employers guidance on pay equity claims under the Equal Pay Act (EPA). For more, click here.

Employer May Determine Relevant Qualifications for Position

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit credited the employer’s explanation for the selection of a Caucasian candidate as more qualified in denying the plaintiff’s failure to promote claim. For more, click here.

Last year, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law that, in part, requires Maryland employers with 50 or more employees to report on sexual harassment settlements. The reporting is done through a Maryland Commission on Civil Rights survey, which is now live and may be accessed here.  For more, click here.