Articles and Blogs

The Department of Labor published regulations last week that will make it unlawful for federal contractors to discriminate in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  The regulations will become effective in early April, 120 days after being published in the Federal Register.  READ MORE

When can a hospital bar access to the premises when employees are off duty?  According to the NLRB in a recent case, it will depend on the hospital’s rule, how it is written and how much discretion the hospital has in interpreting the meaning of “hospital-related business.” Cafeteria Operator in the Hospital The hospital... READ MORE

Although the NLRB has been very protective of employees’ rights to comment on Facebook, sometimes employees can go too far.  In this recent case, the legal line between protected activity and unprotected activity was crossed when two employees openly planned to be insubordinate. READ MORE

The four-year battle over Indiana’s Right-to-Work Law came to a close on November 6, 2014 when the Indiana Supreme Court issued its unanimous 5 – 0 decision upholding the constitutionality of the law passed by the General Assembly amid union protests in 2012.  See our blog Right-to-Work: Now There are Twenty Three that discusses the history... READ MORE

Was Job Restructuring Reasonable?  The Jury Will Decide A hairdresser at a nursing home quit her job following surgery when her boss failed to consider assigning her duties of transporting wheelchair bound residents to the beauty salon to orderlies.  She filed an ADA suit claiming a failure to reasonably accommodate her disability.  The nursing... READ MORE

Michigan, like nearly half of the states in the nation, now embraces the medical use of marijuana in certain situations. Like most state medical marijuana laws, Michigan’s law (enacted by referendum) does not require accommodation of an employee who is under the influence of medical marijuana in the workplace. Yet a decision issued on... READ MORE

With concerns over the spread of Ebola, hospitals and health care providers face a unique situation as employers and care providers. Just as a few years ago employers geared up to deal with Pandemic Flu and a few decades ago employers were dealing with AIDS/HIV in the workplace, many of the same precautions and... READ MORE

The EEOC made headlines earlier this year when it filed suit against CVS Pharmacy, Inc., alleging that the company’s practice of conditioning certain employees’ severance pay on the signing of a separation agreement amounted to a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of employees’ rights under Title VII of the Civil... READ MORE

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) announced last week that it received approval to change its standard audit Scheduling Letter and accompanying Itemized Listing.  Together, these documents specify in detail what records and information federal contractors must supply to OFCCP when they are selected for a compliance review.  The changes are significant... READ MORE

Constitutional or Not? On February 1, 2012, Indiana became the 23rd state to adopt a statute that prohibits private employers and unions from entering into agreements that compel union membership and the payment of dues and fees as a condition of employment.  This so-called Right-to-Work Law was the focus of intense partisan debate, which led... READ MORE