Labor & Employment News Alert

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies the Undue Hardship Standard for Title VII Religious Accommodations

June 30, 2023

For nearly 50 years, the standard for evaluating whether a request for a religious accommodation under Title VII poses an undue hardship to the employer (and therefore, a basis to deny a requested accommodation) has been guided by the “more than de minimis cost” standard set by Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, 532 U.S. 63, 84 (1977). 

On June 29, 2023, that standard was clarified by a…

Why Your Non-Compete Agreement May Violate the National Labor Relations Act

June 13, 2023

Jennifer A. Abruzzo, the General Counsel (“GC”) of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), has expanded her view that the requirement and enforcement of non-compete provisions in employment contracts and severance agreements generally violate the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). On May 30, 2023, the GC addressed a memorandum to all Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and…

Unions Can’t Time Their Strikes to Damage Employers’ Property!

June 1, 2023

The National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) protects the right to strike, but that right is not absolute.  The right to strike is limited by the requirement that workers take reasonable precautions to protect their employer’s property from foreseeable imminent danger to a sudden work stoppage.  In other words, a union cannot time its strike to intentionally damage an employer’s property and then…

Say Goodnight, Jimmy: Artificial Intelligence and the WGA Strike

May 10, 2023

After six weeks of negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), effective 12:01 A.M. on May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America called for its members to go on strike—the first Hollywood strike in fifteen years.[1]  The Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America, East are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television,…

NLRB Reverses Course On Abusive Employee Conduct

May 5, 2023

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) reversed a significant 2020 decision and revived its earlier decisions affording employees different treatment when engaging in abusive or offensive conduct in the course of protected Section 7 activities. Specifically, employers may be prohibited from addressing abusive or offensive conduct by an employee in the course of protected activities, even if…

Third Circuit Reminds Employers That Unions Can Review Portions of Asset Purchase Agreements

May 1, 2023

On April 20, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion, in Crozer Chester Medical Center v. NLRB, finding that two employers violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by refusing to produce portions of an Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA”) requested by a union. 

By way of background, Crozer-Chester Medical Center (“Crozer”)—a nonprofit healthcare…

Indiana Healthcare Employers Beware—Greater Protections for Physicians are on the Horizon

April 27, 2023

The Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Bill (SB) 7 on April 24, 2023, and it now heads to Governor Holcomb’s desk for signature. If signed into law, SB 7 would (i) ban noncompete agreements between a primary care physician and employer, (ii) render a noncompete agreement unenforceable upon certain events and (iii) specify a process by which a physician or employer may pursue mediation to…

Agencies Issue FAQs for Group Health Plans Regarding the End of the COVID-19 Emergency Periods

March 30, 2023

On February 2, 2023, we shared that the Biden Administration announced it plans to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and the related National Emergency on May 11, 2023. (https://www.jacksonkelly.com/labor-employment-personnel-blog/preparing-group-health-plans-for-the-end-of-covid-19-emergency-periods.) Yesterday, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the…

Fourth Circuit Underscores Burden of Proof for Intentional Discrimination

March 16, 2023

The Fourth Circuit issued a decision yesterday, reinforcing a plaintiff’s burden in employment discrimination cases.  In Balderson v. Lincare Inc., No. 21-1753 (4th Cir. Mar. 15, 2023), a three-judge panel reversed the trial court’s conclusion that Chandra Balderson’s termination from employment was the result of discriminatory animus based on her sex.  The trial court reached this conclusion after…

New Protections for Pregnant and Nursing Mothers: What Employers Should Know About the PUMP Act and PWFA

February 22, 2023

As part of the omnibus spending bill for FY 2023, Congress passed new protections for pregnant employees and nursing mothers in the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the bills into law.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The PWFA was enacted to address the gap between the…

Holy moly! Employees who are paid $200,000 can get overtime!

February 22, 2023

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the workforce is divided into two groups:  (1) hourly, non-exempt employees, who are entitled to overtime compensation for any time worked in excess of forty hours per week;  and (2) salaried, exempt employees who are not entitled to overtime compensation.  In order to classify someone as a salaried exempt employee, that person must be paid on a “salary…

Glacier Northwest: Does the NLRA Preempt State Tort Actions Against Unions?

January 25, 2023

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court received oral argument addressing the question of whether the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) preempts a state-court lawsuit against a union for intentionally destroying an employer’s property during a labor dispute.  In one of the most highly-anticipated labor cases before the Court in decades, the justices will decide Glacier Northwest, Inc. v.…