Labor & Employment Law Update

In May 2014, the Department of Homeland Security announced a proposed rule to allow for work authorization for certain spouses of H-1B visa holders. The work permit is called an Employment Authorization Document or EAD. No time frame has yet been finalized for this benefit.

Employment authorization could be extended to H-4 nonimmigrant spouses in the following situations:

(1) The principal H-1B spouse is the beneficiary of an approved 1-140 Immigrant Petition; or

(2) the H-1B nonimmigrant’s period of stay is authorized under sections 106(a) and/or (b) of the American ...

In a recent memorandum, the Office of the General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), informed all regional directors that the NLRB had entered into a program with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) whereby NLRB investigators, in certain circumstances, will actively encourage parties that file an unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charge to also file charges or complaints with OSHA and the DOL for potential violations of the Occupational Safety and ...

Employers may be appalled to learn that their standard practice of simply mailing (and emailing) notices and other important correspondence to employees may be insufficient to satisfy their obligations under various employment laws. 

Recently, an appellate court held that a former employee’s claim that she never received individual notice defeated the “Mailbox Rule” presumption, and therefore precluded the employer’s ability to obtain summary judgment in a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) matter.  Lupyan v. Corinthian Colleges Inc., No. 13-1843 (3rd Cir ...

Franchisors across the U.S. may be surprised to learn that the general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board has taken the position that they are likely joint employers with their franchisees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  The announcement came in the context of finding joint liability for alleged unfair labor practices, but the true impact and purpose is to open the door to unionization of all employees of local franchises as a single bargaining unit of the corporate franchisor.

Since 2012, the NLRB has received 181 complaints from employees of ...

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review a Fourth Circuit opinion holding that an employer did not violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) when it did not offer light duty to a pregnant employee, even though the employer had an established light duty program for certain categories of employees, including those injured on the job. Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. The following week, the EEOC released enforcement guidance that takes an opposite position to that reached in Young. The guidance was not offered for public comment prior to being ...

The labor world is abuzz about “micro-units” as a result of two recent National Labor Relations Board decisions regarding Union petitions to represent such “micro-units” of employees:  Bergdorf Goodman, 361 NLRB No. 11 (July 28, 2014) and Macy’s, Inc., 361 NLRB No. 4 (July 22, 2014).

What is a micro-unit and why does it matter?

A “micro-unit” is a small and discrete subset of employees at a particular worksite, which a union seeks to represent.  It is the opposite of a “wall-to-wall unit” that would encompass the majority of an employer’s non-supervisory ...

In contrast to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the recent Hobby Lobby case, which directly affected only a handful of employers, two cases with the potential to derail the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) were decided last Tuesday – with conflicting results. Less than two hours after a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Halbig v. Burwell that the insurance subsidies that help millions of Americans pay for health insurance are illegal in 36 states, the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a contradictory ruling in King v. Burwell, affirming the exact ...

“Equality in the workplace is not only the right thing to do, it turns out to be good business.”  – U.S. President Barack Obama, July 21, 2014

On July 21, 2014, President Obama – in allegiance to his commitment to the LGBT community – signed an Executive Order that amends Executive Order 11246 giving workplace protections to those applicants and employees seeking work from federal contractors and subcontractors by specifically prohibiting contractor discrimination based upon not only a person’s sexual orientation, but now their gender identity too.  Unlike the Hobby ...

Although the Illinois Medical Marijuana law went into effect on January 1, 2014, marijuana (medical and recreational) is still currently illegal to be possessed or used in Illinois. On July 16, 2014, a significant step was taken towards changing that when the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) approved the administrative rules for the Illinois Medical Marijuana law.

The administrative rules address the licensing of registered users, dispensaries and cultivators, as well as regulations on the operation and management of dispensaries and cultivators. However, the ...

On July 3, 2014, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its decision in Kanerva v. Weems, 2014 IL 115811, reversing the circuit court’s dismissal of four lawsuits, Bauer v. Weems, No. 12–L–35 (Cir. Ct. Randolph Co.); Kanerva v. Weems, No. 12–L–582 (Cir. Ct. Sangamon Co.); Maag v. Quinn, No. 12–L–162 (Cir. Ct. Sangamon Co.); and McDonal v. Quinn, No. 12–L–987 (Cir. Ct. Madison Co.). One of the claims raised in each of the four cases was the constitutional validity of amendments to the Illinois State Employees Group Insurance Act instituted by the general ...