Author: Federal Employment Law Insider

Secretary of labor speaks at major federal contractor conference

by Emily L. Bristol To focus on the importance of the federal contractor community’s role in President Barack Obama’s commitment to enacting change with the “power of the pen,” Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez spoke in early August at the 2014 National Industry Liaison Group’s (NILG) national meeting in Washington, D.C. This was the first […]

Servicemember

Active duty military employees are on leave, not inactive

by Jane Pfeifle An employer’s failure to include a deployed servicemember on a list of employees when it sold its assets may be a violation of the benefit provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Facts Jonathan Dorris, a floor hand for TXD Services and a member of the Arkansas National […]

Recognition

Motivating on the cheap: Rewards don’t have to bust the budget

Dedicated, hardworking—and maybe even long-suffering—employees deserve rewards. Sometimes the appropriate reward is a well-deserved raise, but money isn’t always the best solution. And in today’s world of tight budgets, it’s often not even a possibility. But employers wanting to show appreciation have other options. In the Business & Legal Resources webinar “Small Budget, Big Employee […]

New Massachusetts law provides leave for domestic violence victims

by Susan Fentin Employers in Massachusetts with at least 50 employees are now required to allow employees who are victims of domestic violence to take up to 15 days of unpaid leave within a 12-month period to deal with the violence. The law, which went into effect August 8, also allows leave for covered family […]

Caught AND recorded in the act

E-mails, audio recordings, and video surveillance. This trifecta of evidentiary support was put front and center in two disturbing incidents from the sports world that made headlines in the past week. Earlier this week, Atlanta Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson stepped down, stating his intention to sell the team, because of a 2012 e-mail that he […]

OSHA and the NLRB gang up on employers

by Jeffrey A. Gruen The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will now refer all untimely retaliation claims to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to determine whether an employer engaged in an unfair labor practice (ULP) under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).   Background On March 6, 2014, David Michaels, OSHA’s assistant secretary of […]

Maryland transgender rights law takes effect October 1

by Kevin C. McCormick Maryland’s new law prohibiting discrimination against transgender individuals in areas of employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations goes into effect October 1. The Fairness for All Marylanders Act passed the legislature in March and was signed by Governor Martin O’Malley in May. It adds “gender identity” to Maryland’s existing laws that […]

Maryland parental leave law takes effect October 1

by Kevin C. McCormick Maryland’s new Parental Leave Act (PLA), which grants unpaid parental leave benefits to employees working for some employers too small to be eligible for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), will take effect October 1. The PLA requires employers with 15 to 49 employees to provide unpaid […]

Change your perspective to find new solutions

by Dan Oswald Yesterday I happened down a road I drive on occasionally. I typically take the road northbound as a shortcut to a particular destination. But yesterday I found myself driving south on the same road and barely recognized it. In fact, I had to turn to my wife and ask if we were […]

Delay on immigration reform sparks questions, complaints

by Tammy Binford President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will delay taking executive action on immigration reform means employers won’t get quick answers on when or if changes to the country’s immigration system will come. On June 30, Obama promised he would use his executive power to make changes since Congress wasn’t making progress on […]