Posts in Employer Policies

Lawful, Unlawful, or It Depends? NLRB Issues New Guidance on Employer Policies Affecting Section 7 Rights

June 22, 2018 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Earlier this month, the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) General Counsel issued Memorandum GC-18-04 providing guidance on handbook rules in light of the Board’s Boeing Company decision. In Boeing, the Board reevaluated when a seemingly neutral work rule, handbook rule, or employment policy violates the rights of workers granted by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In doing so, it adopted a new test balancing the negative impact a given rule may have on an employee’s ability to exercise his or her Section 7 rights versus the employer’s right to maintain a disciplined and productive workplace. It also laid out three categories of rules: those that are always lawful, those that are usually always unlawful, and those it depends-type rules falling into the middle category. The GC’s guidance sorts common workplace policies into these three buckets. More ›

California Adds New Notice Requirement for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Victims

August 7, 2017 by Mellissa A. Schafer

Employers, another notice provision has taken effect in California. Beginning on July 1, 2017, employers with at least 25 employees must now provide written notice to new employees that explain the rights of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. More specifically, the required notice mandates employers notify new employees of their rights under Labor Code Sections 230 and 230.1. These sections detail the following points: More ›

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| Email | Print | Topics: California, California Labor Code, Domestic Violence, Employee Handbook, Employer Policies, Interactive Process, Leave, Notice, Paid Time Off, Policies, Policy, PTO, Sexual Assault, Sick Leave, Stalking, Unpaid Leave, Workplace Policies

Implement a Waiting Period for Paid Vacation in California? Yes You Can.

August 4, 2017 by Mellissa A. Schafer

California employers know they must compensate any employee unused and vested vacation pay upon separation from employment. Once vacation is vested, the right to vacation pay cannot be forfeited. But what happens when vacation rights have not vested? The Court of Appeals recently decided this question in Minnick v. Automotive Creations, Inc. More ›

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| Email | Print | Topics: Employee Handbook, Employer Policies, Unpaid Wages, Vacation Accrual, Vacation Pay, Vacation Policy, Vested Rights, Waiting Period, Workplace Policies

Wisconsin Appellate Court Holds Management Policy Does Not Negate At-Will Employment Relationship

July 24, 2017 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

At-will employment is the default rule in Wisconsin. Employers may terminate for any reason or no reason at all. However, that relationship can be overridden by contract, in some cases inadvertently, through employee policies and other post-employment agreements. In a case that came as good news for employers, last week, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed that it would not read a policy as overriding the employment at-will relationship unless the policy evidenced an intent to do so. More ›

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| Email | Print | Topics: At-Will Employment, Employee Handbook, Employer Policies, Employment Contract, Only When Rule, Policies, Policy, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Workplace Policies

DOL Challenges Injury and Accident Reporting Policy Under OSHA’s Anti-Retaliation Rule

June 1, 2017 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

OSHA’s new anti-retaliation rule went into effect on December 1, 2016. The purpose of the new rule was to clarify what OSHA considered “the existing implicit requirement” that an employer work-related injury and illness policies be reasonable and not deter or discourage employees from reporting injuries. Since that time, employers and lawyers alike have waited to see what types of policies OSHA would target under the new rule. The Department of Labor’s recent complaint filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin sheds some light on that question. More ›

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| Email | Print | Topics: Anti-Retaliation Rule, Employer Policies, Injury and Illness Reporting, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, Policies, Retaliation, Safety Programs, Workplace Injury, Workplace Injury Reporting, Workplace Policies

Court Dismisses Case Filed Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act

August 10, 2016 by Jane C. Schlicht

Earlier this year, we notified you about the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) and how it affects employers. On August 8, 2016, a U. S. District Judge in the Southern District of Florida dismissed one of the first cases filed under the DTSA, M.C. Dean, Inc. v. City of Miami Beach, Florida, Case No. 16-CV-21731 (S.D. Fla.) More ›

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| Email | Print | Topics: Confidentiality Agreement, Defendant Trade Secrets Act of 2016, Employee Handbook, Employer Policies, Misappropriation, Non-Compete, Trade Secrets

Lawful, Unlawful, or It Depends? NLRB Issues New Guidance on Employer Policies Affecting Section 7 Rights

California Adds New Notice Requirement for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Victims

Implement a Waiting Period for Paid Vacation in California? Yes You Can.

Wisconsin Appellate Court Holds Management Policy Does Not Negate At-Will Employment Relationship

DOL Challenges Injury and Accident Reporting Policy Under OSHA’s Anti-Retaliation Rule

Court Dismisses Case Filed Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act

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