Industry News

In a rapidly changing legal environment, organizations may find their employment policies are not only obsolete but possibly illegal.

Basketball. Brackets. Upsets. The 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament started this week, so you should expect to hear these words around the water cooler for awhile. In fact, if executed properly, companies can use March Madness office pools as a way to connect with employees and increase morale. On the flip side, however, without any controls, these pools can actually create significant employee conflict and expose companies to unnecessary legal risk. As such, in this week’s e-lert, we discuss how to avoid some of the risks and gain some of the rewards of March Madness office pools.

In 2012, the United States Supreme Court, in United States v Windsor, struck as unconstitutional, Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which sought to define the words “marriage” and “spouse” as meaning only legal unions between one man and one woman.

As reported in a previous elert, the number of lawsuits alleging wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) continues to increase, largely due to the fact that these claims have become easier to prove than other types of employment claims.

Late last month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals – which encompasses the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee – found that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether an employee – who was not eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) – was nevertheless eligible for FMLA leave (and all of the rights and privileges that come with such leave) under a theory of equitable estoppel when the employee handbook contained a broader definition of FMLA eligibility than what the law required.

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law way back in 2010. By design, it provided time for employers, insurers, and others to adjust to its new mechanisms. But as the complexity of the law became more apparent, the government implemented regulations granting extensions on enforcement of many of its provisions. Employer penalties have been postponed until this year. Thus, employers should be mindful now and throughout the year of the following issues:

In light of the amount of time spent at work and the close relationships that invariably develop between co-workers, workplace romances seem inevitable. While some will survive through “sickness and in health,” others may not last until “death do us part.” Regardless of the end result, both situations can pose challenges for employers, who must decide how to manage the impact of a workplace romance on employee morale, workplace productivity, and legal liability.

We have long advised our clients that, to ensure the enforceability of restrictive covenants they require their employees to sign, the provisions should be tailored to protect the companies’ legitimate business interests. This is particularly important when requiring employees to sign non-compete agreements which are the broadest types of covenants and traditionally the most difficult to enforce. While some states, including Georgia, have made it easier in recent years to enforce such agreements, an ongoing case involving Jimmy John’s serves as a reminder that one size doesn’t fit all.

The start of a new year is a great time for new beginnings – including with your employment-related policies and practices. To help you in your efforts, here is a short checklist of items to consider for 2015. While this list is by no means comprehensive, acting on just these few, manageable items now can save you headaches later.