On July 21, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) issued a long-awaited decision giving employers more freedom to discipline employees who engage in abusive, obscene or profane conduct in connection with their work. In General Motors, LLC, 369 NLRB No. 127 (2020), the NLRB rejected three context-specific rules formerly used to assess whether an employee’s inappropriate conduct is protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act). Instead, the NLRB will now assess that conduct under the Wright Line standard, which is used to evaluate all other claims of discriminatory conduct under the Act.
Category: Counseling & Compliance Training
San Francisco Enacts Temporary ‘Back to Work’ Ordinance in Response to COVID-19 Layoffs
On June 23, 2020, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a “Back to Work” Emergency Ordinance guaranteeing reemployment to certain employees laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ordinance requires covered employers to provide written notice when layoffs occur while also prohibiting discrimination against, and requiring reasonable accommodations for, employees who experience a family care hardship.
U.S. Department of Labor Issues New FMLA Leave Forms and Requests Public Comments
In June, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, the division tasked with enforcing the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), revised its model forms for employers to give to employees to support certain FMLA-qualifying reasons for leave. The new forms are intended to clarify compliance requirements and streamline administration of FMLA leave.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Independent Study of EEOC 2017 and 2018 Pay Data Underway
On July 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) will conduct an independent study of the EEOC’s Employer Information Report (EEO-1 Report) Component 2 data, which was collected last year. Pursuant to a court order, covered employers were required to provide new Component 2 EEO-1 data reports for two years of their employees’ W-2 wage information and total hours worked in 12 pay bands by gender, race and ethnicity. The collection ultimately sought pay data for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 and was due on September 30, 2019.
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Colorado Adopts New Paid Sick Leave Requirements for Employers
Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently signed the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, which will soon require Colorado employers to provide workers with up to six paid sick days per year. In addition, the new law immediately broadens the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, requiring Colorado employers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19, regardless of the number of employees they have.
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A Genetic Mutation That Interferes With Normal Cell Growth May Qualify as a Disability Under the ADA
In a case of first impression at the circuit level, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed dismissal of a disability discrimination complaint because the plaintiff had plausibly alleged a condition covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) based on a genetic mutation causing abnormal cell development.