Labor & Employment Law Update

Back in November we reported on a federal judge ordering several members of management to turn over messages from their personal email accounts and counseled employers to be proactive in managing employees’ use of personal email for company business. The guidance set forth there rings true for text messages and other forms of electronic communication (e.g. WhatsApp, Slack, Trello and myriad others) as well.

As we explained in our prior post “document production” encompasses not only “documents” in the traditional sense, but all relevant information “stored in ...

When it comes to employee bonuses, employers often prefer “discretionary” bonus policies—as opposed to more rigid and definite policies and procedures that answer the questions of “who” is eligible to receive bonuses, “when” bonuses will be paid, and “how much” the bonuses will be.

A problem can arise, however, when the underlying method the employer uses to award bonuses remains consistent from year to year.  Under Illinois law, for example, past practice—even in a non-union setting—can give rise to a legally-enforceable expectation that a given ...

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held—for the first time—that discrimination based on transgender and transitioning status violates Title VII. Although the court has previously held that discriminating against transgender employees because of gender non-conforming behaviors constitutes gender stereotyping in violation of Title VII, this decision takes it one step further—protecting all transgender and transitioning employees regardless of any outwardly observable behaviors or characteristics.

In EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris ...

A dangerous misunderstanding persists in the business community that an employer can choose to “1099” its workers, or classify them as independent contractors, so long as there is an agreement between the employer and employee and both are satisfied with the arrangement. This misguided belief can have dire consequences if blindly followed.

When a worker is classified as an independent contractor, the employer is not liable for federal tax withholding, payment of state unemployment tax, maintaining workers compensation insurance or compliance with state and federal wage ...

Just last week on February 26^th, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in Janus v. AFSCME, a case in the Court’s 2017 term with a potential of adversely impacting the viability and influence of public sector unions.  The case, originating in the seventh circuit with Judge Richard Posner, involves an appeal over the dismissal of a complaint that sought to invalidate agency fees and to reverse the Supreme Court’s 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.

Janus is the latest case to reach the Supreme Court challenging the 40 year precedent set ...

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) is responsible for the enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1975 (ERISA). EBSA recently announced that, in 2017, by enforcing ERISA, it restored $1.1 billion to employee benefit plans. Of this amount, about 60% was from civil investigations and 40% from informal complaint resolutions.

Of course, the flip side of $1.1 billion going to employee benefit plans is $1.1 billion paid by employers, fiduciaries and their insurers.

This announcement from EBSA appeared roughly ...

What happens when you combine Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase? Apparently, a new nonprofit health care company. That was the news last month when the three companies announced that they are forming their own health care company to increase transparency for their employees.

Anyone involved with employee benefits knows that one of the most dreaded moments annually is getting the renewal quote for the health benefit plans. The quote starts the agonizing dance of trying to get the astronomical increase to a manageable number while calming the budgeting folks ...

As most turn their thoughts to love and romance this Valentine’s Day, we remind you of the potential liability that Cupid’s arrow may unleash. In this post-Weinstein and #MeToo period, the thought of office romance may catapult an employer into sheer panic.

Although a recent CareerBuilder survey indicates that office romance is at a 10-year low, the stats are still telling: 36% of workers admitted to having dated a colleague in the past year. Of workers who had an office romance, 30% dated someone in a higher position. Yikes. 

A soured relationship at work can result in a broken ...

Though hacked systems are alarming, too often, data breaches come from much more obvious sources, such as computers without passwords (or weak ones), files left sitting out on desks, and even briefcases left on airplanes (like Department of Homeland Security analysis of terrorist threats at the Super Bowl). An employer’s exposure for data breaches can be significant. At minimum fines, civil suits (including class actions), lost trust and bad publicity, and remediation costs.

In 2017 alone, some of the major headline data breaches include the Paradise Papers and Panama ...

After a decade of rapid growth which saw the international student population increase 85 percent to over a million students, the number of newly arriving international students fell 3 percent in the 2016-2017 academic year.

President Trump’s campaign rhetoric and subsequent action as President have contributed to substantial declines in international student enrollment for the current academic year. Across the country the number of new international students declined an average of 7 percent according to a study of about 500 campuses by the Institute of International ...