This morning the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Janus v. AFCSME , holding that requiring public sector employees to pay fair share fees to unions violates the First Amendment. As we discussed in our prior posts , a fair share fee (sometimes called an agency fee) is a fee that non-union members must
Is the Inability to Perform the Required Duties of the Job Just Cause for a Public Employee’s Discharge? It Depends. (PART II)
Yesterday, we reported on a Commonwealth Court decision that basically concluded that an arbitrator’s award ordering the reinstatement of a discharged employee who is incapable of performing his job violates the “essence test.” We also noted that a subsequent decision of the court seems to be a bit in conflict with that holding. Let’s take
Is the Inability to Perform the Required Duties of the Job Just Cause for a Public Employee’s Discharge? It Depends. (PART I)
In November 2017, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion concerning an arbitrator’s reinstatement of a state correctional officer (“CO”). The CO was responsible for monitoring inmates who worked on the prison’s loading dock. As far back as 2015, the CO’s supervisors noticed unauthorized food items in the dock area. Despite instruction to remove
White House Office of Management and Budget Hits the Pause Button on EEO-1 Compensation Data Requirement
Employers with 100 or more employees (and federal contractors with 50 or more employees) must submit an EEO-1 Report annually, detailing the race, gender, and ethnicity of its workforce. In September of 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a revised EEO-1 Form, which would have required employers to submit extensive data related to
Class Action Settlement Reminds Employers that Job Duties – Not Job Titles – Rule FLSA Exemptions
In September of 2015, two delivery drivers filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The employees alleged that their former employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay them overtime between 2012 and 2015. The class subsequently ballooned to 474 members (and
A Tale of Two Cities: The Demise of Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance and the Durability of Philadelphia’s
Back in 2015, Pittsburgh enacted a paid sick leave ordinance, following a trend among cities throughout the country. Pittsburgh’s paid sick leave ordinance required employers with fifteen employees or more to provide up to forty hours of paid sick leave per calendar year. Employers with less than fifteen employees were not spared. The ordinance required
The Other Shoe Drops (sort of): The Third Circuit Issues a Ruling on Class Arbitrability
In 2010, two employees filed a claim against their former employer, Robert Half International, Inc., alleging that it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). In addition to individual claims, the plaintiffs brought a collective action on behalf of all other similarly situated employees. The plaintiffs, however, had signed employment agreements containing arbitration clauses, which
Compensation: Is it Becoming Employers’ Greatest Vulnerability?
A few weeks ago, a jury in New Jersey federal court found that Lockheed Martin discriminated against a former employee. The employee claimed that Lockheed violated federal and state laws by discriminating against him on the basis of age, including by paying him less than his younger co-workers. The jury’s award: $51.5 million ($1.5 million
Remember to Switch to New Version of I-9
Just over thirty years ago, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (“the Act”). It requires that employers verify the identity and work authorization of the people they hire. It also mandates that such verification be done on a form designated by the Attorney General. We know that form as the I-9. From time
Post-Election Impact – What’s a Federal Contractor to Do?
Back on September 7, 2015, President Obama signed Executive Order 13706, which requires that certain federal contractors provide their employees up to fifty-six hours of paid sick leave per year. In February of this year, the United States Department of Labor issued proposed rules to implement the Executive Order, and it invited public comment on