|
Volume 6, Issue 2
|
February 2017
|
| 5 Reasons Why Employers CANNOT Rest Easy Under a Trump Administration |
|
The conventional wisdom is that Donald Trump's Presidency will bring brighter days for employers since he has vowed to decrease regulatory burden and to roll-back many Obama Administration rules favoring employees and labor unions. While this may be true generally, there are 5 reasons why employers need to curb their enthusiasm for now. Continue reading this article by Joe Hugg.
|
| Trump Travel Ban Impacts Hires from 7 Countries |
|
| The biggest story from the first two weeks of Donald Trump's Presidency is his Order temporarily banning refugees and citizens of 7 countries from entering the U.S. - even if they already obtained a visa or permanent resident status (i.e., a "green card"). Many American employers have long-term employees working pursuant to "green cards," and thousands of businesses rely on foreign workers to provide skilled labor pursuant to a H-1B visas, or less specialized work pursuant to an H-2 visas. Multi-national companies also depend on foreign "transfers" who work under L visas. If your business currently employs or seeks to hire workers from one of the 7 nations on the banned list (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen), consult an attorney with employment- and immigration-law experience to determine whether the Trump Ban will affect your employees or disrupt your hiring plans. |
| Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits of Louisiana, LLC Settles Hiring Bias Claims |
|
| On January 9, Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits of Louisiana LLC agreed to a $175,000 settlement with the Labor Department over allegations that it discriminated against 467 black applicants for warehouse positions. So far, the settlement is the first in 2017 that stems from action by the DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. The OFCCP files only a handful of administrative complaints each year. In this case, OFCCP conducted a routine compliance audit of Southern Glazer's facility in St. Rose, La., and found the company's hiring process resulted in race discrimination against black applicants between January 2008 and January 2009, according to an administrative complaint. |
| EEOC Releases Public Comment Draft Enforcement Guide on Workplace Harassment |
|
| On January 10, the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee released for public comment a draft enforcement guide on how to identify and prevent workplace harassment. The proposed guidance explains legal standards that apply to harassment claims based on sex, race, national origin, disability or other protected characteristics. In 2015, the EEOC received 27,893 private-sector charges alleging harassment, which equaled more than 31 percent of total charges filed with the agency. Last year the 16-member harassment task force completed its work and released a report co-authored by EEOC Commissioners Chai Feldblum and Victoria Lipnic urging employers to "reboot" their harassment prevention efforts. The EEOC set a February 9 deadline for comments. |
State Workers in Illinois Face Payless Paydays
|
|
On January 26, 2017, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sought a court order that would terminate an injunction allowing the state comptroller to pay the full wages of all employees despite the state's failure to enact appropriations legislation. On January 27, Governor Bruce Rauner vowed that payrolls would run smoothly during the budget crisis and that he would seek to block Madigan's petition in St. Clair Country Circuit Court. The motion calls for the court to dissolve the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' July 2015 injunction that required the state comptroller to pay employees their full wages during the budget crisis which has been an ongoing issue in Illinois since June 30, 2015 due to a standoff between Governor Rauner and the Democratic controlled senate. According to Madigan, the injunction offers no incentive for the governor and the legislature to resolve their budget impasse.
|
Waitress Claims Manager Groped and Harassed Workers
|
|
On January 25, Olive Garden waitress Amanda Baker filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that former general manager at the Bay Shore, New York Olive Garden, James Kaiser, sexually harassed the female workers, hired based on perceived attractiveness and traded raises and promotions for sex. Baker claims that Olive Garden and its parent company Darden Restaurants, Inc. failed to take action against Kaiser after an initial complaint that accused him of groping a waitresses' breasts and telling her it reminded him of why he had hired her. Kaiser was not reprimanded and was instead allowed to take leave for anxiety. Baker was unaware that he had not been fired until he returned from leave and resumed his previous behavior. According to Baker, he required her to take cigarette breaks with him in a "secluded dumpster area" almost every shift. On these breaks, Kaiser would allegedly subject Baker to sex talk, including commenting on other waitresses' bodies and what they would be like in bed. The lawsuit claims that Kaiser also offered raises and promotions to waitresses who would agree to have sex with him. Kaiser's boss Fred Naclerio was aware of the harassment, but did not fire Kaiser until he groped another waitress after his return from leave.
|
 |
| Management Update Briefings |
|
|
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. Labor & Employment Attorneys
|
|
|
