Articles and Blogs

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has reviewed a number of private employer rules restricting off-duty employees’ access to employer facilities. In some cases, the NLRB has held that the employer’s rule was unlawfully overbroad because it granted the employer too much discretion to determine the business reason for an employee’s access.  In other... READ MORE

All Work and No Pay A recent provisionally approved settlement in a wage and hour class and collective action case serves as an important reminder for employers of the risks and potential costs of hiring interns to perform work without pay.  In Tart et al. v. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. et al, two plaintiffs... READ MORE

Menorah Medical Center believed it was complying with the Kansas State peer review statute when it required peer review investigations be kept confidential, when it told employees that they were not allowed to bring a union representative to a peer review committee meeting and when it refused to provide peer review committee documents to... READ MORE

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) continues its efforts to find employee status for individuals historically considered to be independent contractors. In Sisters’ Camelot, a decision issued on September 25, 2015, the Board reversed an administrative law judge’s finding that canvassers hired by a non-profit organization for fundraising purposes were independent contractors. What Were... READ MORE

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has decided to allow a union to present electronic evidence of employee authorization in support of a request for a secret ballot election in the private sector. This move may make it even easier for a union to gather support and raises many concerns about how employees use computers... READ MORE

Background Employers continue to await information regarding the effect of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL’s”) proposed changes to the companionship services exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  As previously reported, the DOL issued a new rule significantly changing the scope of the companionship services exemption.  Though the new rule was scheduled to take... READ MORE

President Obama signed a new Executive Order on September 7, 2015 that will require certain federal contractors to provide employees up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.  The leave can be used for the employee’s care or if the employee needs to take care of a family member.  The new obligations... READ MORE

In a highly anticipated decision, the NLRB has restated and redefined the standard for determining when employers will be found to be joint employers for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  The NLRA governs labor management relations in the private sector.  This three-to-two decision applies long-established principles to find that two or... READ MORE

On August 20, 2015, in Nobach v. Woodland Village Nursing Center, Inc., the Fifth Circuit held that terminating an employee for a refusal to pray the Rosary does not violate Title VII when there is no evidence that the employer was aware of the employee’s conflicting religious beliefs. In light of this determination, the... READ MORE

On August 21, 2015, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (the “Court”) issued a ruling in Home Care Association of America v. David Weil, also known as the “companionship services lawsuit.” Unfortunately, it is more bad news for the home care industry. The Court ruled that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has the... READ MORE