Author: South Dakota Employment Law Letter

Program allows employers to support servicemembers

by Jennifer S. Frank and Danielle M. Kerr This article focuses on the National Guard’s Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve Program (ESGRP), explaining how employers can support the employment of National Guard and reserve members and how they can manage laws governing the employment of military personnel. National Guard and reserves The National […]

FEHA

Americans first: Preference for foreign workers can run afoul of federal laws

by Jacob M. Monty Making good on promises from earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun cracking down on what it calls discrimination against U.S. workers who are being passed over in favor of temporary foreign workers. The DOJ recently announced a settlement with Carrillo Farm Labor, LLC, a New Mexico […]

Diversity and inclusion director gets a little inclusion

by Michelle Lee Flores The California Court of Appeal threw a solitary bone to Toyota’s director of diversity and inclusion when it reversed a trial court’s dismissal of his sexual orientation discrimination claim. The court of appeal held that the former employee had provided sufficient evidence that a senior manager’s perception that he was “too […]

Writing effective workplace investigation reports

by Karen McAndrew When a lawsuit alleging discrimination, harassment, or retaliation arrives at your door, will you be prepared to defend it?  Why documentation is important We all hope, of course, that our workplace culture prevents employees from experiencing unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation; that we have good, solid policies in place to address any […]

CBO: $194 billion deficit increase if key ACA subsidies end in 2017

by Jennifer Carson The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to offer plans with reduced deductibles, copayments, and other means of cost-sharing to certain people, depending on their income, who purchase plans through the ACA marketplaces. In turn, insurers receive federal payments arranged by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to cover the costs […]

Alt-right protests: Protected off-duty activity or cause for termination?

It’s an employer’s nightmare. An employee shows up in a video making the rounds on social media taking part in a protest that includes violent clashes and racist insults. The employer wants no association with such actions and decides to cut ties. Will there be legal trouble if the employee is fired? Possibly, according to […]

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen—best practices from Top Chef

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!” That’s essentially what a group of Teamsters told Top Chef host personality Padma Lakshmi back in June 2014 outside of Steel & Rye restaurant in Milton, Massachusetts. This “episode” is now at the center of a lawsuit brought by the federal government against four […]

Missouri right-to-work law set to take effect

by Bob Kaiser, Daniel O’Toole, and Jeremy Brenner Missouri’s right-to-work law will take effect on August 28. The law was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Eric Greitens in February. Here are some key provisions of the law: No employee may be required to become or remain a member of a union as […]

Genetic information is off limits!

by Michael Adams Medical examinations of future and present employees are commonly required by Canadian employers to verify a person’s capacity to do the work. However, Since May 2017, however, federally regulated employers can no longer require that future and present employees undergo genetic testing or disclose the results to determine, for example, whether they […]

Miscimarra announcement called ‘great loss’ but ‘no reason to panic’

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chair Philip Miscimarra’s reported decision to leave the Board when his term expires on December 16 rather than allow himself to be considered for another term has probusiness Board watchers looking ahead and lamenting the loss of his contributions to NLRB decisions. Kevin C. McCormick, an editor of Maryland Employment […]