Industry News

Managing Partner, Stan Wilson, is quoted below in an article for the WALL STREET JOURNAL

Pregnancy discrimination claims before the EEOC have risen in recent years, and the EEOC has stated that enforcement of pregnancy-related laws is a priority. Federal law prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from instituting discriminatory policies and practices, and in some circumstances, may require employers to provide pregnant employees with accommodations.

Is that FedEx® delivery driver an employee or an independent contractor? Is that janitor a franchise owner or an employee? Companies such as Federal Express, Jani-King and Coverall North America have a lot of money riding on whether they have correctly classified individuals as independent contractors or franchisees rather than as employees.

There is a growing movement in legislative circles, and it is called “ban the box.” This movement refers to removing the box on employment applications that applicants are asked to check if they have criminal records, and it seeks to provide such applicants who are otherwise qualified with a meaningful opportunity to advance beyond the application phase of the hiring process.

Download this informative article which originally appeared in RESTAURANT START UP AND GROWTH

In this country, companies frequently instruct their managers and employees that the “customer is always right,” particularly in the consumer, entertainment, and hospitality industries. Perhaps for this reason, businesses can be slow to address the unlawful harassment (including sexual harassment) of employees by non-employees, including customers and vendors.

Increasingly, companies are offering a variety of wellness incentives to their employees with the potential payoffs being savings in health care costs, decreased absenteeism, and increased productivity. Employers, however, need to ensure that their wellness programs do not run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) or they may have to pay out.

Recently, the National Labor Relations Board's General Counsel issued a memorandum authorizing 43 unfair labor practices complaints by McDonald's employees to proceed against McDonald's Corp. on a theory that it is a “joint employer” of employees at franchised restaurants.

A California businessman is charged with conspiring to steal secret information from an American manufacturer about a white pigment called chloride-route titanium dioxide, and selling the information to a state-owned company in China.

Recent news from Washington has implications for both federal contractors and those who do business with them. The rules not only apply to those businesses with direct federal contracts, but also to certain suppliers and sub-contractors who provide goods and services used to perform those federal contracts.

Following the close of the U.S. Supreme Court's October 2013 term, employers should look to the high court's next term, which includes four important employment cases addressing pregnancy discrimination, the authority of federal agencies, and wage-and-hour issues.

As reported in a recent Breaking News elert, on June 26th the Supreme Court ruled in Noel Canning that President Obama exceeded his authority in January 2012 by appointing three people to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) while the Senate was not in recess. This means that the 436 cases, decided by the NLRB during the 18 month period in which two of the three now-invalid appointees were seated, are also invalid. Some of those decisions significantly impacted non-union workplaces.

Read this informative article about how the new Georgia Safe Carry Protection Act affects local government employers.

Read this series of interesting articles in which Rich Escoffery is quoted about the importance of managing your online reputation.