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Employment Law

GSA works to highlight and advance DEI efforts in construction industry

01/10/2023
Perhaps companies looking to focus on DEI initiatives should consider a recently commissioned report from the General Services Administration aimed at advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the architecture and construction fields. While DEIA training is becoming a norm in this sector, the report showed that more can be done in areas such as recruiting, empowering and advancing a diverse workforce.

FTC proposes ban on non-compete clauses

01/10/2023
The Federal Trade Commission proposed the Non-Compete Clause Rule on Jan. 5, which would prohibit employers from entering non-compete agreements with employees and would rescind existing agreements.

First union formation at Microsoft is a lesson in employer/employee relations

01/06/2023
ZeniMax Workers United/Communication Workers of America is the first studio at Microsoft to secure union representation, and it’s the largest group of union-represented quality assurance testers at any U.S. game studio. That in itself has been making headlines since the news broke on Jan. 3. But perhaps just as notable is how Microsoft handled the situation.

Worker in alleged “slave ship” wants to litigate race bias suit

01/04/2023
A Black assembly line staffer at Tesla, Marcus, seeks to add more than 100 other workers to an existing lawsuit, calling the electric-car maker’s production floor in Fremont, Calif., a “hotbed for racist behavior.”

Follow these key FMLA intermittent leave call-off rules

01/04/2023
Managing employees authorized to take FMLA on an intermittent basis can be a massive headache. You never know when the employee will call off work. But disciplining the employee for missing work can backfire. Here’s how to create call-off rules that comply with the law.

Avoid this tipping trap

01/04/2023
Tipping is tricky for those who give (how much?) and for those who receive—do they pool the tips and divide them, or pocket tips individually? However, one touchstone rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act is clear: Tips are for employees.

EEOC settles its first COVID remote-work claim

01/04/2023
In the EEOC’s first COVID-related claim where remote work was deemed an accommodation under the ADA, an employee who became sick at work with a fever and uncontrollable cough claims she was fired for refusing to return to the office.

Autistic employee fired after 37 years: McDonald’s will pay $100,000 to settle

12/22/2022
Two months after a new franchisee took over a McDonald’s restaurant, management fired Anthony, an employee with autism, who had worked at McDonald’s for 37 years, earning excellent performance reviews and accolades.

NLRB set to get funding boost; expect more enforcement

12/22/2022
If Congress’ $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package passes before it recesses for the year, one pro-union, pro-worker agency stands to see over $25 million in new funding. The National Labor Relations Board, which enforces the National Labor Relations Act, has in recent years been cash-strapped and its enforcement power therefore curtailed. Since 2010, the NLRB has lost 30 percent of its workforce.

Manage workplace politics in or out of election season

12/21/2022
Politics are always with us nowadays. When tensions are high, it is essential to keep a respectful workplace, whether or not it’s voting season.