I’m enRAGEd (can’t you feel the “rage” in those CAPS). I don’t like to tell people what to do, but you should be enRAGEd as well. Why? Because the New York Mets’ second baseman Daniel Murphy missed the first 2 games of the baseball season – voluntarily. He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t injured. He just … Continue Reading
Florida’s Supreme Court and the federal appeals court covering Florida recently issued opinions regarding the enforceability of arbitration agreements. The federal court opinion said that an arbitration agreement waiving an employee’s ability to bring a collection action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is enforceable. The state court opinion said that an arbitration provision … Continue Reading
A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative law judge recently found two code of conduct rules that prohibited comments exceeding “the bounds of fair criticism” and behavior that “is counter to promoting teamwork” violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Click here for copy of the case. The case arose after the William Beaumont Hospital terminated … Continue Reading
Last week, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board, ruled that a technical college ran afoul of the National Labor Relations Act for instituting a policy prohibiting employees from gossiping and for then firing an employee who violated the policy. Click here for a copy of the case. Laurus Technical College in Atlanta … Continue Reading
Effective January 1, 2014, Florida’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $7.79 to $7.93 per hour. Each year, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity must recalculate Florida’s minimum wage based upon the increase in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Earners and Clerical Workers in the Southern Region. Based upon the … Continue Reading
In February 2013, we advised you that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) revised its Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster, also referred to as the “General Notice.” (Click here for February 2013 post) At the time, the revised FMLA poster was only available in English. After months of waiting, the revised FMLA poster is … Continue Reading
The next filing deadline for EEO-1 Reports is Monday, September 20, 2013. The “EEO-1 Report” is the Employer Information Report that certain employers are required to annually file with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The form asks the employer to provide a count of its current employees by job category and then by … Continue Reading
You know it is the height of summer when we start posting about ditch digging and OSHA violations. Although not the sexiest of topics, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida, recently decided an issue for the first time: Can a supervisor’s knowledge of his own violation of an OSHA safety … Continue Reading
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) which had defined “marriage” as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and “spouse” as a person of the opposite sex who was a husband or a … Continue Reading
In the past few days, the United States Supreme Court has issued three decisions that significantly impact employment law. We offer a brief summary of the Court’s decisions and how they impact employers. American Express v. Italian Colors. The case was not an employment law case and dealt with the less-than-sexy issue of arbitration clauses. … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2013, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a meeting with representatives from employers, advocacy groups and insurance providers to discuss issues raised by employee-sponsored wellness programs in the context of the Americans With Disabilities Act and Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act as well as age, national origin, race and sex discrimination. … Continue Reading
The revised regulations for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require that records or certifications submitted for FMLA leave that contain genetic information and family medical history are subject to the confidentiality requirements of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). Click here for a link to GINA’s confidentiality regulations (29 C.F.R. §1635.9). … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) published revisions to certain regulations for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a new poster and a new certification form. The following highlight key issues for employers with regard to the revisions. New FMLA Poster. The DOL revised its FMLA poster, also referred to as the “General Notice”, effective … Continue Reading
On December 26, 2012, the Eleventh Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Florida, issued a decision in Miller v. Roche Surety and Casualty Co., Inc. The plaintiff, Danielle Miller, sued her former employer claiming that it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA ) by failing to give her a time and place to express breast … Continue Reading
If you have not watched television or driven on any road lately, you might be surprised to learn that there is a presidential election scheduled for Tuesday, November 6. Well maybe not. This blog focuses on issues that employers should consider during the next few weeks. Florida law does not require employers to give employees … Continue Reading
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the federal law regulating, among other things, background checks that employers conduct on applicants for employment and employees. Employers who use third parties to provide background reports on employees or potential employees know that they must make certain disclosures before taking any adverse action based in whole or … Continue Reading
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued updated enforcement guidance in light of recent court decisions on the use of arrest and conviction records in making employment decisions. The EEOC Enforcement Guidance can be found here. The guidance is not binding on employers but the EEOC will be enforcing Title VII with the guidance in … Continue Reading
The new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) forms issued by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) have one change: the expiration date is now February 28, 2015. The forms can be found here . The forms do not make reference to the amendments to military family leave or include the safe harbor language from the Genetic … Continue Reading
As we blogged about in December, the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama) recently found that transgender employees are protected against job discrimination pursuant to the Equal Protection Clause, which only applies to public sector employees. Whether or not the same protection was available under Title VII, which applies … Continue Reading
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the federal statute that places limits on an employer’s ability to use background checks on employees and potential hires, will soon add a new requirement. Employers’ use of background checks, and credit history checks in particular, has come under scrutiny. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has pursued disparate impact … Continue Reading
Recently, Congressmen Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) introduced the “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011,” which would allow states to determine their own marijuana rules without interference from Washington, DC. If this law passed, states could choose among banning marijuana entirely, making it medically available, decriminalizing its possession or taxing and regulating … Continue Reading
Florida’s minimum wage has increased to $7.31 per hour. The direct wage for tipped employees increased to $4.29 per hour. The six-cent increase is the result of a successful lawsuit brought by a group of Florida workers against the government claiming that it miscalculated the state minimum wage under the state constitution. While 6 cents … Continue Reading
