When it comes to being a cross-border employer, there are plenty of Canadian and United States laws to consider, and some of those laws regards how to conduct proper applicant/employee background checks. This piece reviews a number of background check nuisances as they exist in the United States versus Canada including: (1) How the Law …
How Employers Can Handle their Biggest Threat to Data Privacy, Their Employees
Given the ever-expanding landscape of privacy laws and regulations, employers are becoming increasingly aware that they are responsible for data breaches caused by their employees. When looking to formally put obligations upon employees to modify employee conduct, employers tend to start with policy, such as in an employee handbook to allow a means of internal …
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U.S. Supreme Court Signals Abandoning the “Narrow” Interpretation Standard for Overtime Exemptions Suggesting More Employer-Favorable Future Rulings
On April 2, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a ruling with narrow application, but it is significant because it likely signals a “new day” favorable to employers regarding how Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is interpreted in the future. The FLSA, of course, is the law that requires the payment of overtime to “non-exempt” workers. …
Facebook Evidence of Employee’s “Fore” Play Sinks FMLA Claim
With the news that Tiger Woods will be returning to the Memorial Golf Tournament, which is just a few miles from our Columbus, Ohio office, we thought a golf-related post would be interesting. This post concerns the recent case of Sharrow v. S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Case No.: 17-cv-11138 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 12, 2018), which not …
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The Times They are A-Changin’: More States and Cities Move Ahead of the Courts by Prohibiting the Use of Prior Salary Information in Hiring
In the last year a number of states and major cities have passed laws prohibiting employers from obtaining past income/salary information from applicants. States with current legislation include California, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon. Cities with current legislation include: San Francisco; Chicago; New Orleans; New York City; Albany County, New York; Westchester, …
The GDPR Covers Employee/HR Data and It’s Tricky, Tricky (Tricky) Tricky: What HR Needs to Know
The European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25, 2018, so in less than 60 days. While many companies have been working to ensure compliance with respect to their customer and vendor data, one extremely tricky area that must not be overlooked is the GDPR’s application to employee/HR information. …
Asleep At the Wheel: The Growing Debate Regarding Obesity and Workplace Accommodations
As society continues to grow, pun intended, many new injuries and infirmities are entering the realm of “disability” putting employers more at risk at being caught in the crosshairs of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and comparable state laws (most of which track the original text of the ADA closely). Some of the extension is …
Five Common Employer Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Social media has been and will continue to be an issue for employers. It has become the way people, especially Millennials, who make up a significant amount of the restaurant-industry workforce, communicate. When most employers think about social media in the workplace, they tend to think solely in terms of the high-profile social media firing …
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Keep Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’: DOL Reissues 17 Opinion Letters That Had Been Withdrawn Under the Obama Administration
In late June 2017, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced it would be reinstating Opinion Letters issued by its Wage and Hour Division, which was a practice that had ceased back in 2010. This announcement is significant from both the procedural and substantive basis. From 2010 to July 2017, Opinion Letters were replaced by …
The Way We Were: The NLRB’s Time Machine Resets the Clock on Employer Work Rules and Joint Employer Status
With the end of 2017 right around the corner, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a duo of pro-employer decisions that continue to chip away at and erase its jurisprudence during the Obama Administration. The first decision, Boeing Company and Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, IFPTE Local 2001, took on …