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Although much of the NLRB agenda has been thrown into question with the general belief that the Supreme Court will void President Obama’s NLRB recess appointments and thus the decisions made thereunder, expect that the Board will promptly revisit all of those rulings and reinstate them.
Despite the government shutdown, the Supreme Court of the United States is forging ahead with its schedule for the October 2013 term. The fall schedule of arguments carry a number of direct and potential impacts for employers.
In June 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) officially recognized obesity as a disease. Putting aside arguments within the medical community about the wisdom of classifying more than one-third of U.S. adults as ill, the AMA’s decision fuels legal arguments that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects obese individuals from discrimination based on their obesity.
The rulings from the Supreme Court mean that same sex married couples in Washington will receive the same federal benefits as opposite sex married couples.
Over the past couple of years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been active in scrutinizing and striking down employers’ social media policies to determine if they violate union and non-union employees’ Section 7 rights to discuss wages and working conditions.
Governor Inslee recently signed into law a bill tightening the social media privacy rights of employees and job applicants. The new law makes it unlawful for employers to require an individual to give access to his or her social networking account as a condition of employment
Both employers and employees often have questions as to how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) deals with everyday workplace situations. The EEOC recently issued guidelines as to four specific areas of disability that are frequently the subject of inquiry.
The Seattle City Council has unanimously passed Bill 117796 aka Job Assistance Bill regarding employment actions as to persons with criminal records. The Council sent the Bill to the Mayor for approval. Seattle based employers need to understand the impacts and responsibilities under the Bill.
The Fifth Circuit recently ruled in the EEOC’s favor by determining that “lactation” (not necessarily breastfeeding) is a condition of pregnancy, and thus prevents employers from taking adverse action against a female employee because she is lactating. See EEOC v. Houston Funding II LLC, (No. 12-20220).
The wave of Family Responsibility Discrimination (FRD) claims continues to rise. FRD is a descriptive title for lawsuits that allege discrimination against workers who have caregiving responsibilities for children or older family member. While there is no single FRD statute, it refers to the complex web of potential claims under Title VII, FMLA, ADA and other protective statutes.