|
|
Foes of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) rule to shorten the process required to hold a union representation election scored a win when a court invalidated the rule on May 14, but the final outcome of the fight isn’t yet clear.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the NLRB didn’t have a quorum when it approved the rule, which went into effect April 30.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released new guidance related to employers’ use of applicant and employee arrest and conviction information.
The new guidance, approved in a 4-1 vote during a meeting on April 25, includes information on how an employer’s use of an individual’s criminal history in making employment decisions could violate the prohibition against discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The new guidance explains that an employer’s use of criminal history must be “job related and consistent with business necessity.”
by Tim Murphy
In 2010, the Massachusetts Legislature made sweeping changes to the statute governing employers’ use of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI). In addition to prohibiting employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal history on the job application, the amendments called for additional changes to the way employers access CORI data and how they must use and maintain that information. Those remaining changes become effective May 4 and include the following:
The ongoing saga of delays and extensions of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) notice posting rule continues, this time with an injunction.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted a request to halt the implementation of a rule that would require all employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to post notices informing employees of their rights under the NLRA. Meanwhile, the circuit court will hear appeals to a previous decision from the D.C. district court in which the NLRB’s authority to promulgate the rule was challenged and upheld.
For over 75 years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was one of a very few federal labor agencies that didn’t require employers to post a general notice of employee rights in the workplace. Yet, on December 22, 2010, the NLRB decided it would change its 75-year history. On that date, the NLRB proposed a rule that would require all employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to post notices informing employees of their rights under the NLRA.
After the required notice and comment process, the NLRB published its final rule on August 30, 2011. After a number of extensions, the rule is currently set to take effect April 30, 2012. However, the rule, and its posting requirements, may be delayed again because of an ongoing court battle.
California employers have been waiting since October 2008 for the California Supreme Court to issue its ruling in the Brinker Restaurant case, clarifying whether employers must “ensure” that employees take meal and rest breaks or simply “provide” those breaks. Today, the court unanimously served up a major victory to California employers with its decision.
Maryland has become the first state to enact password protection legislation designed to prohibit employers from requiring applicants and employees to disclose their personal passwords to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.
The legislation was passed April 9 and is expected to be signed by Governor Martin O’Malley. If signed, it will take effect October 1.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched a National Emphasis Program (NEP) that for the next three years will step up inspections of health hazards to workers in the nursing and residential care industry.
A statement from OSHA quotes figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that workers in nursing and residential care facilities experience one of the highest rates of lost workdays due to injuries and illnesses of all major American industries. In 2010, the incidence rate for cases involving days away from work in the sector was 2.3 times higher than that of all private industry as a whole.
As of March 28, 2012, a new protected category has been created under the Omaha Municipal Ordinance enforced by Omaha’s Human Rights and Relations Department. Omaha residents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender are now protected from discrimination in the same way that sex, race, national origin, age, marital status, disability, etc., are protected categories under Nebraska and federal law.
The controversial ordinance was the subject of heated public debate and a lengthy public hearing before the Omaha City Council, which passed it 4-3 on a straight party-line vote (all Democrats voted for, and all Republicans against). Mayor Jim Suttle signed the ordinance on March 15. Although he invited all council members to the public signing, only Councilman Ben Gray, the legislation’s main proponent, was in attendance.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new rule aimed at clarifying when the “reasonable factors other than age” (RFOA) defense can be used in claims filed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The rule is to be published in the Federal Register on March 30.
A statement from the EEOC says the final rule clarifies that the ADEA prohibits policies and practices that have the effect of harming older individuals more than younger individuals unless the employer can show that the policy or practice is based on an RFOA.
|
|||||||
