Labor & Employment Law Update

If you are an employer with employees or independent contractors in Massachusetts, it is about to get much more burdensome to protect your customer contacts and trade secrets. In sweeping legislation affecting all employers with employees or independent contractors in the Commonwealth, Massachusetts has altered the meaning, validity and enforceability of non-competition agreements.

The new law, which goes into effect October 1, 2018, requires that any non-competition agreement affecting employees or independent contractors in Massachusetts meet eight minimum ...

Constantly evolving employment risk, often brought on by a change of administration (federal or state), is one of the most difficult aspects of running a successful business. Overnight, a lawful employment practice might be interpreted as unlawful, necessitating change to avoid charges of discrimination, unfair labor practice charges, agency scrutiny, and other issues related to running the business.

Agency opinion letters – guidance on how an agency interprets a fact-specific situation under the laws it enforces – are one useful tool to stay abreast of these ...

On August 24, 2018 Governor Rauner signed PA 100-1066 into law thereby amending the Illinois Human Rights Act which revamps, and sometimes streamlines, discrimination complaints on the state level.  This legislation, effective immediately, comes after months of hearings and recommendations from both the Senate and House Task Forces on Sexual Misconduct.  I have had the privilege of sitting on the Illinois Task Force on Sexual Misconduct and take this opportunity to report on these amendments. During the course of the hearings, the Task Force heard testimony from business ...

On August 3, 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published its final rule on proposed modifications to the Statement of Policy under Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Section 19 prohibits, without prior written consent from the FDIC, the employment of any person who has either been convicted of, or who has entered a pretrial diversion program (program entry) for, a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust or money laundering.

Certain modifications in the final rule are intended to expand the FDIC’s de minimis criteria which obviate the ...

In July the EEOC announced the terms of a consent decree settling claims of systemic disability discrimination against a global metal products manufacturer. Pursuant to the terms of the decree, the employer will pay $1 million, reinstate affected employees, appoint an ADA coordinator, revise its policies and procedures, track accommodation requests, maintain an accommodation log, provide ADA training to all of its employees, and report its progress to the EEOC over the next two and a half years.

Where did the employer go wrong? According to the announcement, the employer ...

With the dust settling on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding the validity of class and collective action waivers in employee arbitration agreements, there is no better time to double-check that employee arbitration agreements are in proper form. A recent decision from the Seventh Circuit highlights one particular area for review: the employer’s name.

In Goplin v. WeConnect, Inc., the employee, Goplin, worked for WeConnect, and he signed an arbitration agreement at the beginning of his employment. Unfortunately for WeConnect, the arbitration agreement ...

Employers have had reason to exhale a bit in the Trump era of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). However, as demonstrated in a recent case involving employee Weingarten rights, long-standing federal labor principles and facts can nonetheless tilt a decision against the employer.

A Quick Refresher:  The term “Weingarten rights” refers to the rights of union-represented employees to demand union representation during an employer’s investigatory interview that may result in discipline (as opposed to a meeting where discipline is simply being issued to ...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) addresses, among other things, the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information, referred to as “protected health information” or PHI. Many employers are confused as to how the HIPAA Privacy Rules apply to them. With requests for FMLA and accommodations for disabilities, employers are handling very sensitive and private information about their employees on a daily basis. While it is impossible to thoroughly address the multitude of issues within the HIPAA privacy rules in ...

On July 1, 2018, the Chicago Minimum Wage and Cook County Minimum Wages increased as follows:

• Chicago Minimum Wage increased to $12.00 per hour for non-tipped employees and $6.25 for tipped employees (Chicago Municipal Code §1-24).
• Cook County’s new minimum wage is $11.00 per hour for non-tipped and $5.10 for tipped employees.

IMPORTANT: Even if you are in a municipality that opted out of the Cook County or Chicago minimum wage or paid sick leave ordinances initially, remember to stay up to date as sometimes things can change.  For example, after opting out of the Cook County Minimum ...

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, companies have been reviewing their sexual harassment training and investigation practices, and many states have considered the need for additional legislation offering protection to employees. For example, we previously covered legislation discouraging confidential settlements of sexual harassment claims in Tennessee, Washington, and New York. Recently, California enacted new legislation that protects employees who report sexual harassment from lawsuits claiming that they defamed the alleged harasser. Assembly Bill No. 2770 ...