NLRB judge shoots down employee separation agreement as overly broad

Employers prefer finality when they pay an employee severance at the end of employment. One way employers sure up this finality is by obtaining a broad release of claims and covenant not to sue from the employee. But, that is not the only way. Employers use of variety of terms in separation agreements to try to ensure that the agreement is the last they will hear from the employee. That is, unless the employee runs to the NLRB, which seems to believe that there isn’t a policy that doesn’t violate the Board’s rules on protected concerted activity.

When schoolyard bullies become workplace bullies

This is Donovan.

He’s 7 years old. And he has Noonan Syndrome. Noonan Syndrome is genetic disorder caused by one of several genetic mutations. Donovan’s is of the PTPN11 gene. It is a multi-system disorder with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 1,000 – 2,500 births. In Donovan’s case, he has a bleeding (platelet function) disorder, a congenital heart defect (pulmonary valve stenosis), feeding and gastrointestinal issues (Celiac disease), ptosis of his right eye, small stature (for which he takes daily injections of growth hormones), and low-set ears.

DOL's “Persuader Rule” goes live; unions rejoice

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued its long awaited Final Rule reinterpreting the “Advice Exemption” to the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, otherwise known as the “persuader” rule.

What does this mean for you? In summary, it means that if you engage an outside law firm or other consultant to provide advice, or to otherwise represent you concerning employee organizing, concerted activities, or collective bargaining activities, you must report that engagement to the DOL, and, therefore, also to the union.

The class action is dead … long live the class action! #SCOTUS upholds “representative samples” for class certification

It’s been nearly five years since the Supreme Court decided, in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, that the claims of large groups of employees that involve differing calculations of damages must be litigatated as individual claims, and not as a class action.

At the time, and since, may pundits declared the wage-and-hour class action lawsuit dead (or at least with one foot squarely in the grave).

Earlier this week, however, the Supreme Court applied the paddled and shocked the class action back to life.

Employment Law Blog Carnival: The “Candy Cane Children” Edition #ELBC

People seem to like lists, so here’s one to kick off this month’s Employment Law Blog Carnival. Who is the greatest rock band of each decade (according to Jon Hyman)?

• The 1960s — The Beatles (with apologies to the Rolling Stones)
• The 1970s — The Who (with apologies to Led Zeppelin and the Clash)
• The 1980s — U2 (with apologies to Guns N’ Roses and Talking Heads)
• The 1990s — Nirvana (with apologies to Pearl Jam and Green Day)
• The 2000s — White Stripes (with apologies to absolutely no one)

This month’s ELBC will focus on the latter, the White Stripes. They allegedly formed on Bastille Day 1997, and most certainly broke up five years ago. In between, they single-handedly saved rock ‘n’ roll.

Is your employee handbook a contract of employment? Well, does it have a disclaimer?

Employee handbooks come in all shapes and sizes. For example, some employers have policies that create a probationary period for employees during the initial few months of employment. Some employers have progressive discipline policies. Some grant formal appeal rights to employees who are disciplined or terminated. And some set forth terms of compensation, benefits, and time-off.

Is your handbook a contract of employment, or a compilation of discretionary policy statements? The answer depends on whether your handbook has a disclaimer telling employees that they are at-will and cannot rely on the handbook as a contract.

Does HR understand their own personal liability for FMLA violations?

If you’ve ever held supervisor and manager training on any employment-law issue, you know the glazed-over expression of a group of individuals going through the motions. “Oh goody, we have training today. Here’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back,” is what you’ll hear around the coffee machine before they enter the training room.

Want to wake them up and ensure rapt attention? Hit them with the idea of individual liability. Under Ohio law, we have it for discrimination claim. It exists for wage-and-hour claims under the FLSA. And, last week, in Graziadio v. Culinary Institute of Am. [pdf], the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals held that a manager or supervisor can be individually liable for FMLA violations.