Last week, the Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (H.R. 4445) (the “Act”), which prohibits the enforcement of mandatory arbitration agreements in connection with sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. The measure had previously passed in the House on February 7th. Although President Biden has not
Labor & Employment
Ohio BWC Cuts Rates for Public Employers in 2022; Rate Cut for Private Employers to Follow?
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) began the new year with a rate reduction for Ohio’s public employers, estimating that those employers will pay nearly $17 million less in workers’ compensation insurance premiums next year thanks to the cut. The BWC announced that this 10% rate reduction was made possible by a decline in injury …
Biden Administration Pursuing Goal of Increasing Unionized Workforces
Shortly after taking office in January, 2021, President Biden created the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The Task Force’s mission is to develop policies, programs and practices to promote worker organizing and collective bargaining. It is chaired by Vice President Harris, its vice chair is Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and its…
Supreme Court to Address Workplace Vaccine Mandates Today
Did the federal government overreach when it issued emergency rules forcing employers to impose vaccine mandates? The United States Supreme Court will take up that important question today when it examines emergency COVID-19 vaccine rules issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The Supreme Court…
Federal Injunctions Impact Employer Vaccine Mandates
A recent barrage of federal injunctions has caused substantial confusion for employers who were preparing to comply with federal vaccine mandates, including mandates involving OSHA, CMS and federal contractors. As a result, many covered employers are re-evaluating their plans to take the following points into consideration:
- The federal injunctions stop the government from forcing certain
…
NLRB Issues Guidance Regarding Bargaining Obligations Under the Emergency Temporary Standard
As we all know by now, on November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect workers in businesses with more than 100 employees from the Coronavirus, and on November 6, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed enforcement of the ETS. B.S.T. Holdings, LLC, …
Non-disparagement Provisions in Separation Agreements
Return to work procedures and vaccine mandates have consumed much of Human Resources’ attention over the past year. However, there are other areas of the law that employers should continue to monitor. For example, California recently passed Senate Bill 331 (“SB 331”) which limits an employer’s ability to use non-disparagement, non-disclosure, and confidentiality agreements. Specifically,…
Ohio BWC Expands 2020 Dividends to Previously Ineligible Employers
In 2020, the Ohio BWC decided to return a total of nearly $8 billion in dividends to Ohio employers over the course of the year. Although the amount of the dividends reflected an effort to assist employers reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, dividend returns are not exclusively a COVID-19 relief effort; any…
Timeout! NLRB General Counsel Says Student-Athletes Are Employees Who Can Unionize
On September 29, 2021, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Jennifer Abruzzo, issued a Guidance Memorandum memorializing her position that student-athletes at private universities should be considered “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
The NLRB has never directly answered the question of whether student-athletes are employees under the NLRA. …
U.S. Department of Labor Finalizes Tip Theft Rule
On September 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) finalized a regulation which allows for penalties up to $1,100 per violation, plus back wages owed, whenever the DOL finds tipped workers have been cheated of tips. Previously, a Trump Administration rule, which was never finalized, only allowed fines to be imposed for “repeated and…