Labor & Employment Law Update

After the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, U.S. academic institutions continue to grapple with compliance issues. Institutions must address areas where there is exposure to risk and train their employees to minimize that exposure.

One area of risk is the flow of data. Who on campus is the gatekeeper handling the data? Most universities will have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) as required by Article 37 of the GDPR. Other campus GDPR actors may include University Counsel, Information Technology Officers, Information Security ...

By now, you most likely have heard the phrase “OK Boomer.”  What began as a meme, quickly went viral.  Soon enough, Boomer’s themselves have been seen using the phrase in jest.  Elizabeth Warren recently used it as the subject line of an email fundraiser (next to a winking emoji). The phrase was the subject of an entire editorial on the most recent CBS Sunday Morning episode.  For those of you entirely out of the loop on this one: Dictionary.com lists “OK Boomer” as a “slang phrase” used “to call out or dismiss out of touch or close-minded opinions associated with the Baby ...

In Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL 9000, a fictional artificial intelligence machine, helps guide a space mission to Jupiter, but through the course of the film is revealed to be a villainous presence. Fast forward 50 years and, although artificial intelligence (AI) has yet to lead a crew of astronauts to Jupiter, AI now pervades our lives in many seen and unseen ways, including employment recruiting. For example, AI commonly helps companies sort through voluminous resumes to identify qualified candidates. By some estimates, roughly 40 percent of ...

On September 23, 2019 the IRS issued final regulations updating the rules governing hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. They are generally similar to the proposed regulations issued late last year and primarily reflect changes made by the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.

Some of the changes in the final regulations are mandatory, requiring employers to take action by January 1, 2020.

1. Eliminates of the 6-month contribution suspension requirement

Beginning January 1, 2020, 401(k) and 403(b) plans will no longer be able to suspend ...

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed amendment to the regulation governing the fluctuating workweek (29 CFR 778.114). The fluctuating workweek can be used to calculate overtime for an employee whose hours fluctuate from week to week based on the nature of the job. The DOL’s proposed amendment is to clarify that there is no issue with paying a bonus, shift premium, or additional pay to someone who is being paid via the fluctuating workweek method, but such extra payment will increase the regular rate of pay for calculating overtime unless the additional pay ...

As Illinois set out to become the first state to legalize recreational cannabis through statutory authority, the legislative intent for protections for employers and the workplace were intended to include some of the strongest in the nation. However, when the dust settled and the statutory framework was analyzed, there appeared to be room for reasonable minds to have differing opinions on what the law actually meant for the workplace.

On one hand, could employers lawfully implement reasonable, non-discriminatory drug testing policies aimed at prohibiting applicants and ...

Flu season is here and that likely means employers can hear sneezing and sniffling up and down the hallways at work.  Sick employees are less productive and their absences can disrupt an employer’s operations.  Worse still, sick employees may come into work and spread an illness to coworkers, exacerbating the problem.  According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), recent studies show that flu vaccinations reduce the risk of flu by between 40 and 60 percent.  Given this, employers may wish they could mandate that all employees receive a flu vaccination.  But can they?

For those ...

In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the argument that the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) prohibits mandatory arbitration agreements that contain class and collective action waivers.  But that has not stopped the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that enforces the Act, from weighing-in and declaring other arbitration agreement provisions unlawful.

As a string of recent NLRB decisions makes clear—the newest of which is Beena Beauty Holding, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 91 (2019)—mandatory arbitration provisions, even in non-union ...

Last year we reported on Haven Healthcare, the venture started by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan. Amazon has now announced a pilot program for its employees in Seattle that puts a modern spin on employer provided health care.

Announced in September, Amazon Care provides telemedicine and in-person health care services. Employees can see a provider via a mobile app or website and text a nurse on any health topic. If follow-up care is needed, a nurse can make a home visit. Amazon contracted with a private practice for the nurse visits to collect lab samples ...

The holiday season is fast approaching. What should be a joyful time filled with family, friends and festivities is all too often the opposite for employers: a season filled with legal and logistical challenges with their employees. 

One of these potential challenges is the employer’s legal obligation to accommodate employees’ sincerely-held religious beliefs. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as various state legislation such as the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Missouri Human Rights Act, prohibits employment discrimination based on religion ...