By: John E. Murray Last month the Department of Labor issued final regulations clarifying the right of eligible employees to take FMLA leave relating to military leave. These regulations take effect today. The relevant changes to the DOL’s prior regulations are: FMLA leave is available for qualifying exigencies arising out of the active duty of […]
By: Daniel Finerty After President Obama’s re-election, many employers assumed they would be faced with an aggressive and re-invigorated National Labor Relations Board (“Board”). However, last Friday’s decision from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals may slow the Board, at least in the short term. Noel Canning Div. of Noel Corp. v. National Labor […]
By: John E. Murray Many employers believe the upcoming election could have a significant impact on their business. This belief has led some employers to share these opinions with their employees. Normally there is nothing wrong with political discussions in the workplace. However, Wisconsin prohibits political discussions which unfairly influence how employees will vote. Wisconsin […]
By: Jonathan T. Swain and Daniel Finerty Despite the General Counsel’s issuance of three (3) separate memoranda regarding its social media cases, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) itself had not ruled on a case dealing with the issue. However, that changed on September 7, 2012 and again September 28, 2012, when the Board invalidated […]
By: John E. Murray Under the American’s with Disabilities Act, and most state discrimination laws, employers must make reasonable accommodations for qualified disabled workers. When no accommodation would allow the employee to remain in his or her current position, employers must consider reassignment to a vacant position for which the employee is qualified. In a […]
By: Oyvind Wistrom The filing of several recent lawsuits has focused increased attention on the advisability and legality of using unpaid interns under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). With the tight labor market, students and recent graduates have become increasingly eager to accept unpaid positions or internships just to get their foot in the […]
By: Alan M. Levy In what was probably the most eagerly-awaited Supreme Court decision since Bush v. Gore, a majority of Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court’s four liberals have held that the “individual mandate” in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often called “Obamacare”) is constitutional under Congress’s taxing authority. National Federation […]
By: Daniel Finerty and John Murray Conventional wisdom dictates that an election year typically leads to a rulemaking slowdown among the federal agencies that regulate the workplace. However, in the last few months, the National Labor Relations Board has challenged that conventional wisdom by seeking to implement two new mandates on employers as well and […]
By: Kristofor L. Hanson Yesterday, with implementation less than two weeks away, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia enjoined the National Labor Relations Board from implementing or enforcing its proposed employee rights posting rule until the court has decided whether the rule is lawful. Implementation had been set for April […]
By: Kristofor L. Hanson The Wisconsin Legislature has passed a bill that will eliminate compensatory and punitive damages under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (“WFEA”). Governor Scott Walker is expected to sign the bill in the near future. Once signed, the law will eliminate the availability of compensatory and punitive damages for all future cases […]