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Idaho

ERISA lawsuits not limited to plan administrators

07/19/2011

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified who can sue for unpaid benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Employers can ask jury to decide when collective bargaining agreement was ratified

07/19/2011

A case that has made it up to the U.S. Supreme Court and back down to the trial court is now making its way up the legal ladder again. The 9th Circuit has issued a new decision, ruling that an employer that challenges a union’s claim that employees have ratified a collective bargaining agreement can make their case to a jury.

Employee must prove class action is warranted

06/16/2011

Lately, California employers have faced a flood of class-action lawsuits claiming they misclassified employees. Now that tide might turn, thanks to a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Tell staff: Break data rules, risk prosecution

06/16/2011

When explaining your computer-use policy, make sure employees understand they may be criminally prosecuted if they violate the rules and gain access to information they have no business reading. That should make them think twice about obtaining confidential information and passing it on to the competition.

Be prepared to prove you had reasonable cause to deny reinstatement after FMLA leave

05/20/2011

Employers that deny an employee the right to reinstatement after protected FMLA leave must make sure there’s solid proof that there was a rational reason for doing so. As a practical matter, that means employers must show that the employee would have lost her job regardless of whether she took FMLA leave.

Federal government employer? You are liable for interest on back pay if you discriminate

04/20/2011

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Back Pay Act allows judges to order interest payments to federal government employees who win discrimination lawsuits if the employees were affected by “an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action which resulted in the withdrawal or reduction of all or part” of the employee’s pay.

Weed out substance abuse with ‘one-strike’ rule

04/20/2011

Many employers have adopted strict drug and alcohol testing programs for all new hires—and strictly bar employment of anyone who tests positive. Now the 9th Circuit has ruled that applying the rule to a recovering addict is legal unless that addict can somehow prove that the rule discriminates against a class of disabled individuals—namely, recovering addicts.

9th Circuit: Pharma reps are salespeople

03/22/2011

Typically, federal courts tend to uphold the U.S. Department of Labor’s interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. But now the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the DOL’s interpretation of what it means to be an outside salesperson under the FLSA.

Plant closings: You must give 60 days’ notice

02/23/2011

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a strongly worded opinion chastising an employer for trying to dodge liability for not giving 60 days’ notice that it would close a facility, as required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

No separate notice for nonmembers required for midyear union dues assessment

01/28/2011

What happens if a union passes a dues increase in the middle of the year—perhaps in an election year? Can the union collect the increased amount and then adjust it at the beginning of the next year? According to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, that’s exactly the way to handle the increase.