Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Category: Labor

New York Employers Mid-Year Review

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Posted in Family Leave / Labor / Policies and Handbooks / Wage and Hour

On July 31, 2017

In 2017, employers in New York encountered several important statutory changes affecting recruitment of applicants and retention of independent contractors. More legal change will come in 2018, warranting a mid-year review of current employment and hiring practices, as well as preparation for next year’s developments. Employers should take the time now to audit current practices and prepare for the imminent future. Pay Equity On May 4, 2017, Local Law 67 was enacted to prohibit all employers in New York City from inquiring about an applicant’s salary history (including current or prior wages, benefits, and other compensation), and from relying on an applicant’s salary history when determining his or her compensation package during the hiring process, including contract negotiations. The law applies to both public and private employers and employment agencies, and to their employees and agents (collectively, “employers”). Employers may, however, engage in communications with an applicant about his or her expectations as to salary, benefits, and compensation, including any deferred compensation or unvested equity which the applicant may forfeit as a result of leaving his or her current employer. In addition, if the candidate voluntarily (and without any prompting by the prospective employer), discloses his or her salary history to the prospective employer, the employer may consider salary history in determining compensation for the applicant,...

Do You Like What You’re Reading? Rate Our Blog: The ABA Journal’s “Web 100” Award

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Posted in Labor

On July 24, 2017

Thank you for visiting the Gibbons Employment Law Alert blog! Content on our site, authored by members of the Gibbons Employment & Labor Law Department, discusses employment and human resources issues and news within the legal and business industries. How are we doing? To review our blog and nominate the Gibbons Employment Law Alert for this year’s ABA Journal’s “Web 100” award, please visit abajournal.com/blawgs/web100 and share why you are a “fan” of our site (Please note: the voting process closes on Sunday, July 30). Thank you in advance for your support.

NLRB Regional Director Continues Board’s Expansion in Higher Ed

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Posted in Labor

On May 2, 2017

A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional director has decided that student resident advisors (“RAs”) are statutory employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In George Washington Univ., the regional director ordered that an election take place May 3rd, so that the student RAs can decide whether to unionize through a secret ballot process. The decision is the latest in a string that expands the NLRA’s reach at colleges and universities, and comes on the heels of a memorandum authored by the Board’s general counsel that broadly interprets those decisions. Facts George Washington University requires all undergraduate students to live in residence halls until their senior year as part of the “student experience.” The university staffs its residence halls with student RAs whose role is to assist other students living in the residence halls and build relationships with and among them. The student RAs have wide discretion in performing their role, including the activities they choose to build relationships. Very few student RAs serve in the role for more than a year. There are, of course, parameters around being a student RA. They must be full-time undergraduate students who have completed at least one year of studies and are in good standing at the university. Individuals interested in becoming student RAs undergo an application and...

USDOL New Persuader Rule Permanently Enjoined

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Posted in Labor

On November 23, 2016

We are pleased to report that a federal court in Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Perez issued a nationwide injunction permanently enjoining the United States Department of Labor’s new persuader rule last week. The decision is a major victory for the business community because the new rule placed employers’ abilities to freely seek labor counsel in jeopardy by expanding their obligations to publicly disclose arrangements into which they entered with the labor consultants, including their attorneys.

Federal Judge Imposes Nationwide Preliminary Injunction on DOL’s New “Persuader” Rule

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Posted in Labor

On June 28, 2016

On June 27, 2016, in National Federation of Independent Business v. Perez, Judge Sam R. Cummings of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction precluding the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) from enforcing its recently introduced rule interpreting the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act’s (“LMRDA”) “advice” exemption. 81 Fed. Reg. 15,924 et seq.

Supreme Court Accepts Use of Representative Sample To Prove Classwide Liability

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Posted in Class Action Defense / Labor

On May 2, 2016

In Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, the Supreme Court of the United States definitively answered the question of whether statistical “representative evidence” may be used in class actions to establish that “questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members” pursuant to Rule 23(b)(3). According to the Court’s much-anticipated opinion, the answer is yes: “Its permissibility turns not on the form a proceeding takes – be it a class or individual action – but on the degree to which the evidence is reliable in proving or disproving the elements of the relevant cause of action.”

Department of Labor’s New “Persuader” Rule Requires Employers and Labor Relations Consultants to Publicly Disclose Arrangements

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Posted in Labor

On March 31, 2016

On March 24, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule imposing new reporting requirements under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”) that could impede employers’ communications with their workers about unions. The rule will take effect on April 25, and will cover arrangements, agreements, and payments between employers and their labor relations consultants – including their attorneys – beginning July 1, 2016.

NLRB Ruling is Problematic for Employer Workplace Investigation Policies

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Posted in Labor

On October 26, 2015

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decided that an employer’s workplace investigations policy, which recommends employees keep an internal investigation confidential, violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) because it interfered with employees’ rights to communicate regarding matters affecting terms and conditions of employment. The ruling creates a quandary for employers to maintain effective workplace investigation policies and practices including confidentiality statements in anti-harassment policies.

NLRB Expands Reach by Altering Joint-Employer Standard

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Posted in Labor

On September 17, 2015

Recently, in Browning-Ferris Indus. of Cal., the National Labor Relations Board continued to expand its reach and once again altered decades old law in favor of labor unions, this time by making it easier for unions to hold multiple businesses responsible for bargaining with a single group of workers over employment conditions and terms. The decision has potentially far-reaching implications for companies that enter into staffing arrangements with third parties, including franchisors, who now may have legal obligations to bargain with unions where they never before did.

NLRB Calls a Timeout in Northwestern Football Players Case

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Posted in Labor

On August 24, 2015

Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its long-awaited decision in Northwestern University, a case involving an attempt by scholarship football players to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act. About a year-and-a-half ago, in response to the university’s attempt to dismiss a union election petition filed on behalf of the players, a regional director decided that the students were statutory employees who could unionize. The university challenged the regional director’s decision, which set the stage for the Board’s decision.

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