By John Alan Doran We previously reported on a case where the EEOC was hit with a $4.7 million judgment in attorneys’ fees and costs for pursuing a frivolous class action. (See blog post EEOC Silent on Sanctions) This week the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling, in part. EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., […]
Month: December 2014
NLRB to Re-Hear Labor Arbs
By Bill Wright Another NLRB bombshell. The NLRB used to “defer” statutory issues to arbitration. For example, if an employer and union arbitrated the issue of an employee’s discharge for good cause, the NLRB would not then prosecute an unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charge over whether the discharge was because of protected concerted activity, unless the […]
Federal Contractors Beware – Part 7
By Lori Wright Keffer In response to President Obama’s July 2014 Executive Order discussed here, on December 3, 2014, the Department of Labor announced a new rule prohibiting discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. The rule extends to both applicants and employees and will become effective on April […]
NLRB “Modernizes” Procedures
By Patrick Scully and Beth Ann Lennon The NLRB has adopted comprehensive changes to the procedures for representation elections under the NLRA. Some changes, such as the ability to file documents electronically, clearly bring Board election procedures into this century. Unfortunately, a majority of the changes only speed up the election process itself. The adopted […]
Employees May Use Email For Union Activity
By Patrick Scully and Beth Ann Lennon The NLRB says its 2007 decision in Register Guard was “clearly incorrect.” Employers cannot prohibit employee use of employer email for union and other protected communications. In other words, employer policies that prohibit non-business use of employer email systems are now invalid, absent a showing of “special circumstances”. […]
Supremes OK Post-Shift Screening
By John Alan Doran The Supreme Court today shed further light on post-work, non-compensable time under the FLSA. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, No. 13-433 (U.S. December 9, 2014). The plaintiff class were warehouse workers who retrieved and packaged goods to ship to Amazon customers. After each work shift, they were required to stand […]
GOP Gives EEOC Epic Smackdown
By John Alan Doran The Republican members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (“HELP”) Committee recently released its study of the EEOC, and the results aren’t pretty for the Agency. The study blasts the EEOC for “litigation missteps”, wasting millions in taxpayer dollars on dubious litigation claims, an extraordinary and unacceptable backlog of […]
Tardy-From-Home
By Bryan Stillwagon From the beginning, the employee had attendance and punctuality problems, and the problems didn’t improve even when the employer adjusted her schedule. After she was diagnosed with MS, the company approved intermittent FMLA leave and accommodated her request to work from home. By the end, she was working from home for all […]