Colorado’s Supreme Court found that Colorado employees receiving vacation time must be paid out accrued but unused time when their employment is terminated. In Carmen Nieto v. Clark’s Market, Inc., the state Supreme Court held that if an employer chooses to provide vacation pay, all accrued but unused vacation pay must be paid to employees upon termination and that no agreement to the contrary will be enforced.
Category: Counseling & Compliance Training
Texas Federal Court Rejects Challenge to Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
While public health leaders continue to wrestle with vaccine hesitancy, businesses are wrestling with employee challenges to COVID-19 vaccination mandates. This Saturday marked a win for private employers after a Texas District Court tossed a lawsuit brought by over 100 hospital employees claiming they were subjected unlawfully to a COVID-19 vaccination policy as a condition of continued employment. Although the plaintiffs’ counsel has said they plan to appeal the decision, the order provides helpful precedent for other organizations mulling such vaccination mandates.
Illinois Employers – Are You Due for a Mid-Year Compliance Check-Up?
In the past 15 months, employers have juggled many new and unique situations. Indeed, employers have been navigating their way through complex federal, state and local COVID-19 guidelines, while their employees have faced their own challenges related to work, family, and possible health concerns. As more employees return to the office, it may be a good time for employers to conduct a mid-year compliance check-up to identify any areas that need attention as COVID-19 mitigation protocols wane. Here are a few areas that Illinois employers should consider reviewing.
Supreme Court Limits Application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Against Employees Who Abuse Their Network Access Credentials
In a decision handed down yesterday, the Supreme Court held that civil liability under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) does not attach for employees who abuse or misuse their access credentials in accessing their current or former employers’ computer networks. Rather, to be liable under the CFAA, the employees must access databases or other electronic materials that are outside of their access rights and otherwise off-limits to them.
The Case
The case, Van Buren v. United States, arose out of the actions of a former police sergeant. The former officer, Van Buren, used his valid login credentials to search his police department database for a particular license plate number in exchange for a bribe, but was caught by an FBI sting operation. Van Buren was charged with a felony violation of the CFAA—18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2). An individual is liable under this section (which can carry both civil and criminal penalties) if he “intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access.” The statute defines “exceeds authorized access” to mean “to access a computer with authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled so to obtain or alter.” 18 U.S.C. § 1030(e)(6).
Time to Hit Reset on Remote Worker Expectations?
Many employers, reflecting on the challenging circumstances created by COVID-19, have temporarily bypassed traditional performance scoring for 2020 in favor of more flexible rating schemes. But as organizations increasingly settle into a new paradigm with expanded remote work, managers and human resources leaders face the challenge of recalibrating expectations for how such work will be managed and evaluated moving forward.
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EEOC Issues New COVID-19 Guidance Addressing Vaccinations in the Workplace
Today, after much anticipation and just in time for the Memorial Day holiday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released updated guidance on COVID-19 vaccination issues raised under federal equal employment laws. We outline five things you need to know about the new guidance.
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