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Employment Law

No, you can’t make staff divulge their meds

07/19/2018
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against a Texas employer that requires all its employees to report every medication they take, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Prepare to turn over disciplinary records if employee files a discrimination lawsuit

07/18/2018
When an employee sues for alleged discrimination, he or she is generally entitled to access all relevant employer documents. If you disciplined the employee, chances are you will have to turn over disciplinary records concerning other staff. Don’t expect to keep those records confidential.

DOL funding could fall … a little bit

07/17/2018
The House Appropriations Committee has approved an FY2019 budget bill that would trim the Department of Labor’s discretionary funding by 0.7%.

NLRB claims Musk violated NLRA

07/17/2018
Tesla CEO Elon Musk broke the law at a meeting last year in which he allegedly told employees he would address their workplace safety concerns as long as they didn’t try to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

States push back against DOL’s PAID program

07/17/2018
There’s a lot for employers to like about the U.S. Department of Labor’s new Payroll Audit Independent Determination program—known as PAID. Some state officials aren’t so enthusiastic.

When punishing harassment, you may discipline different perpetrators differently

07/14/2018
Employers investigating workplace harassment accusations may wonder if all the alleged perpetrators must be disciplined equally harshly. You do have some discretion in how you mete out punishment. Just make sure you can later justify why one party was less culpable or deserved a lesser punishment than others.

Counseling, all by itself, isn’t an adverse action

07/14/2018
Do you use some form of counseling or peer review to help employees improve their performance? If so, make sure it isn’t tied directly to punishment such as demotion or termination.

Sample Policy: Social Media

07/14/2018
The following sample policy was excerpted from The Book of Company Policies, published by HR Specialist. Edit for your organization’s purposes ________________________________ “Social media (including personal and professional websites, blogs, chat rooms and bulletin boards; social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter; video-sharing sites such as YouTube; and e-mail) are a common means of […]

Review your handbook: NLRB changes the rules on workplace rules

07/13/2018
The National Labor Relations Board last year overturned an established standard for determining if workplace rules comply with the National Labor Relations Act. Now the NLRB has issued a memorandum providing employer guidance.

Post-Janus, N.Y. legislation favors public-sector unions

07/13/2018
The Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME struck down as unconstitutional the Illinois fair share law and similar state laws, including New York’s. This decision could be devastating for New York public-sector unions.