It’s just Lunch Agrees to pay $900,000 to Settle Discrimination Suit

The dating service It’s Just Lunch USA, LLC (“It’s Just Lunch”) will pay $900,000 to settle a suit alleging that the company discriminated against men.

The announcement of the settlement comes just 10 days after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a complaint against the Hallendale Beach-based company in a Florida federal court. More ›

U.S. Supreme Court Will Rule on Obama’s Recess Appointments

The fate of hundreds of mostly pro-union federal agency rulings now rests with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Court this week agreed to take up Noel v. Canning, the case involving President Obama’s controversial recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). As we have reported, the D.C. Circuit in January ruled that the President violated the Constitution by appointing a board majority pursuant to his recess appointments power, even though the Senate was technically in session. More ›

Analysis: Controversy Surrounding Obama’s NLRB Recess Appointees

As an employer, you may be perplexed by the flap over President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and concerned about what it all means for business.

Your confusion is justified; the situation remains fluid and no one knows just where the dust will settle. This posting provides an overview of the current state of affairs.

The NLRB is a five-member board typically populated by three members from the president’s party and two from the opposing party. The board now has only three members, all Democrats appointed by President Obama. More ›

President Obama to Abandon Recess Appointees to the NLRB

The drama surrounding President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) took an unexpected twist this week as the President announced his intention to nominate three new members.

As we have reported, earlier this year the D.C. Circuit in Canning v. NLRB struck down President Obama’s January 2012 appointment of three members, holding that the President improperly exercised his recess appointments power while Congress was still in session. The ruling has called into question hundreds of decisions rendered when the recess appointees constituted a majority of the board. The Obama Administration has vowed to appeal that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. More ›

EEOC Sues Toys "R" Us On Behalf of Deaf Job Applicant

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has sued retailer Toys “R” Us for failing to provide an interpreter to assist a deaf job applicant during an interview.

The case raises the interesting question of whether an employer must provide an interpreter for job seekers who are deaf.  The EEOC claims that such a step is one of the reasonable accommodations for disabled workers required by the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”). More ›

Employers may Violate Federal Law by Refusing to hire Union Organizers

Here’s a challenging scenario for employers: An individual applies for a job. The employer becomes aware that the applicant is a union volunteer who will likely try to organize the workplace if hired.

Can the employer refuse to hire the applicant without violating federal labor laws?

The answer depends on whether the applicant can demonstrate a “genuine interest in employment” apart from, or in addition to, his or her union activities. As demonstrated in a recent case, this may be an easy standard for union organizers to meet. More ›

NLRB will ask Supreme Court to Affirm Board Members

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced today that it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal court ruling that invalidated the appointment of three members and put hundreds of mostly pro-union board actions in jeopardy. More ›

ObamaCare’s Whistleblower Protections go into Effect

Though President Obama and Congress established broad requirements in the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare), they tasked federal agencies with filling in myriad blanks regarding implementation. The agency rules that are emerging, often with little fanfare, can have an enormous effect on how the law operates in the real world.

One important rule regarding the handling of retaliation complaints became effective this week. More ›

Employers may not Engage in Coercive Surveillance of Unions

An employer risks violating federal labor laws by monitoring employees’ union activities, or even creating an impression of surveillance.

Whether an employer’s union monitoring is considered coercive, and therefore illegal, depends on several factors, including the duration of the observation, the employer’s distance from employees while observing them and whether the employer engaged in other coercive behavior during the observation. See Aladdin Gaming LLC, 345 NLRB 585, 586 (2005).

A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge held that an employer had violated the prohibition against coercive surveillance in the recent case Allied Medical Transport, Inc. and Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO. Allied Medical Transport, Inc. (“AMT”) provides transportation services to disabled Florida residents who are unable to use public transportation. More ›

Senator Introduces Bill to Freeze NLRB Decisions

Hundreds of National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) actions, many of which make it easier for workers to unionize, would be frozen or invalidated under legislation proposed this week by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy).

The so-called “NLRB Freeze Act of 2013” is a response to a recent D.C. Circuit ruling that President Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he appointed three NLRB members in January of 2012. More ›