Another Obama-era National Labor Relations Board policy may be on the ropes. Four years ago, the Board issued its controversial Purple Communications decision. In that case, it determined that employees have the right to use employers’ email systems to unionize and engage in other activities protected under the National Labor Relations Act. You can access
Micah T. Saul
The Most Recent Chapter in the Joint Employer Saga? A Spat between the NLRB Chairman and Democrat Senators
If you have followed our blog over the past year, you are aware of the long and tortured history of the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer standard. The recent history starts with the Obama Board’s decision to overturn decades of case law. But the saga continued.
Just last month, we reported on the…
Avoid Jumping to Conclusions About Compensability of Work Injuries Caused by an Employee’s Intentional, High-Risk Conduct
What should a Pennsylvania employer do when an employee seeks workers’ compensation benefits after injuring himself by engaging in risky behavior at work? Companies may be tempted to take the position that workers’ compensation isn’t available to workers who hurt themselves by intentionally doing dangerous things on the job. Recently, however, the Commonwealth Court found…
Senate Confirms President Trump’s Pick for National Labor Relations Board General Counsel
In September, President Trump nominated management-side labor and employment lawyer Peter Robb to replace Richard Griffin, whose term expired on November 4, 2017, as general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board. Yesterday, the United States Senate confirmed Robb’s appointment to the position.
As general counsel, Robb will play an important role at the NLRB. …
Are Employers on the Hook for Employee Injuries Sustained in Employer-Sponsored Wellness Programs?
An ever-increasing number of employers are sponsoring wellness incentives as a means of encouraging employees to developing healthy habits. In turn, employers gain healthier, more productive work forces. Wellness incentive programs aren’t without their risks, however. In this podcast, Denise Elliott discusses whether employees are covered by workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained while…
The Defend Trade Secrets Act – A Useful Tool for Protecting Proprietary Information
Our friends in the Intellectual Property Group know that an employer’s trade secrets are among its most valuable assets. In this podcast, Carol Steinour Young shares the ways in which employers can protect trade secrets in the midst of employee defections.
What Does Attorney General’s Memo on Transgender Rights Mean for Employers?
LGBTQ workplace rights is perhaps the most rapidly evolving area in employment law. On October 4, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally weighed in on the topic. He issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit employment discrimination based on…
Third Circuit Holds that A Single Word Can Lead to Liability for Hostile Work Environment
Most employers take proactive steps to prevent and eliminate workplace harassment. Until recently, courts recognized and rewarded the proactive approach. Businesses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware could avoid liability for hostile work environment claims if they rooted out the problem before it became “severe and pervasive.”
Courts had long held that a single slur,…
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision in Protz Marks Major Change in Workers’ Compensation Law
Prior to June 20, 2017, a powerful tool was available to employers and workers’ compensation carriers to cap exposure on long term workers’ compensation claims. That tool, provided by the Act 44 amendments in 1996, was called an impairment rating evaluation (IRE) and generally worked like this: once a claimant had received 104 weeks of…
Breaking New Ground: Seventh Circuit Rules that Title VII Protects Sexual Orientation
Workplace rights for LGBT individuals has been a rapidly developing area of the law. A little over two years ago, former President Obama signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs followed suit by issuing…