Insights on Labor, Employment & OSHA

Last week, in a setback for employers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new legal standard to determine whether facially neutral policies, handbook provisions, and work rules are nevertheless unlawful under Section 8(a)(1).

In a much-anticipated decision, the California Supreme Court in Adolph v. Uber Technologies unanimously held that a plaintiff, compelled to arbitrate individual claims under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), does not forfeit standing to litigate non-individual claims in court.

California’s Labor Code section 2802 requires employers to reimburse employees for necessary expenses or losses incurred in the discharge of their duties.

Ruling on a lingering legal issue from the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Supreme Court held that an employer is not liable for cases of “take-home” COVID-19 — that is, where a household member allegedly caught the virus after an employee became infected at work and brought it home.

Signed into law on July 13, 2022, the District of Columbia Cannabis Employment Protections Act, provides major new workplace protections for marijuana users.

Title VII requires employers to accommodate their employees’ religious practices unless it would impose an “undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.”

Enacted last year, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect on June 27, 2023. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began accepting PWFA charges on that date.

ArentFox Schiff is proud to announce that Partner Derek Barella has been elected a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers, a lifetime election for attorneys who have demonstrated outstanding performance and integrity, excellence, and dedication to the profession.

The pendulum has swung again in the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) continued effort to distinguish employees from independent contractors.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 93 attorneys and 21 practices have been ranked by The Legal 500 United States 2023 guide, a nationwide analysis of law firms that provide cutting-edge and innovative advice.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 70 attorneys were recognized as leaders in their field and 24 practices spanning the firm’s litigation, regulatory, and transactional capabilities were ranked in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA.

A panel of the DC Circuit ruled in a split decision that a provision that required a non-profit simply to “direct” certain executives not to disparage a former employee could be held liable for negative remarks made about the departed employee by the CEO.

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) longstanding policy strongly favored manual representation elections. With the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, the Board began permitting mail-ballot elections under the “extraordinary circumstances” exception to its manual ballot preference.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a resource outlining potential liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) for employers who utilize algorithmic decision-making technologies to make employment decisions.

On May 11, the US Department of Health and Human Services ended its COVID-19 federal public health emergency declaration.

In another pro-employee decision, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) has held that the familiar Wright Line standard no longer governs cases involving employees disciplined for engaging in offensive or abusive conduct while participating in activities that Section 7 of the NLRA protects.

This has been a banner year for employee-friendly legislation in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

We’ve all been on notice for some time that the current General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), as well as a majority of the Board itself, has an aggressively expansive view of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act).

Megan Daily will present “What’s in a Contract and Why” at the DC Pro Bono Center’s Understanding the Fundamentals of Nonprofit Organizations seminar series on April 27, 2023.

On March 21, 2023, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed SB 1040 into law. The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, 2023, prohibits employers from using an employee’s social security number or any derivative thereof as the employee’s identification number.

On April 12, 2023, the Commonwealth of Virginia enacted a law that requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with unpaid organ donation leave. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2023.

Los Angeles retail businesses must now comply with a new ordinance that promotes predictable work hours for employees.

On March 22, 2023, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued GC Memo 23-05 providing guidance on the recent decision in McLaren Macomb. Below are some of the notable points set forth in the Memorandum.

Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed into law the “Paid Leave for All Workers Act,” which will allow most Illinois employees up to 40 hours of paid leave per year, for any purpose, starting on January 1, 2024. This will represent a sea change for many employers in the state.

Last year, in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., 13 Cal.5th 93 (2022), the California Supreme Court held that an employer’s failure to timely pay premium pay for meal and rest break violations could subject the employer to waiting time and wage statement penalties.