Insights on employment law for today’s employer
As many construction contractors are aware, the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, effective on November 15, 2021, includes significant monies for transportation, roads, bridges, rail, and other infrastructure construction. President Biden has encouraged public governmental agencies to use project labor agreements (PLAs) on these government-funded infrastructure projects.
A PLA requires…
Most of our readers are aware that on November 9, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring covered employers (employers with 100 or more employees) to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The ETS allows employers to decide whether to adopt weekly COVID-19 testing and mask mandates in lieu of vaccinations. On…
Update 11/8/21 – On Saturday, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana issued a stay of enforcement of the OSHA rule mandating vaccines for employees of large businesses. The ruling blocks the OSHA rule as outlined below. We are following the situation and will keep you updated. …
Many employers are adopting a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy, or they are required by owners, contractors, developers, or state, local or federal government to adopt such a policy for employees working on particular projects. The recognized exceptions to mandatory vaccination policies are for employees who have a medical condition, or employees who have a religious…
Several months ago, we settled an unfair labor practice charge filed by an employee against our client alleging retaliation for the employee’s protected concerted activity. The employee had enlisted the support of other employees in challenging certain pay practices, and it was alleged that the charging party was terminated because of those efforts, rather than…
In 2015 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declined to exercise jurisdiction over a petition filed by a union seeking to represent Northwestern University’s scholarship football players. The NLRB was unwilling to make an affirmative decision as to whether the Northwestern University scholarship football players were “employees” within the meaning of the National Labor Relations…
Employers mandating that employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 should know how to respond to an employee’s request for a religious exemption from the vaccination policy. In this post, I discuss the process an employer can use to distinguish an employee’s personal opposition to a vaccination from a sincerely held religious belief that qualifies as a…
Cyberattacks on employers’ systems or on third parties with whom employers do business are on the rise across the country. Employers need to take a hard look at their current systems to avoid a data breach that affects their employees. In this podcast, Phyllis Karasov and Chris Young discuss how employers can plan for the…
On May 28, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers (Technical Assistance) about COVID-19 and Equal Employment Opportunity laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In the Technical Assistance, the EEOC addressed many questions concerning the right of employers to screen for COVID-19 and/or for symptoms of…
During President Biden’s campaign, he described himself as a “union man.” We are nearing the first 100 days of President Biden’s presidency, and his appointments to the NLRB and the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) are consistent with that description. He has been appointing pro-union representatives including current or former state and federal officials who…
