Workforce Bulletin

[caption id="attachment_1461" align="alignright" width="113"] Nancy L. Gunzenhauser[/caption]

On March 3, 2016, the EEOC issued a one-page fact sheet aimed at assisting start-ups and small businesses understand their responsibilities under the various federal employment laws. The fact sheet, which is available in over 30 languages, reminds employers that:

• employment decisions cannot be made on the basis of protected categories
• employers should establish policies that do not disparately impact employees on the basis of protected categories
• men and women must be provided ...

The top story on Employment Law This Week is the EEOC's filing of its first sexual orientation bias suits.

Last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against an individual for sexual orientation. The EEOC concluded that sexual orientation discrimination is a form of unlawful gender discrimination. This month, the agency filed two landmark federal lawsuits seeking to enforce its interpretation of the statute for the first time. The agency is suing on behalf of workers at a company in Baltimore and ...

Our colleague Michael S. Kun, a Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Wage and Hour Defense Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the hospitality industry: "Taco Bell Employees Likely Are Not Celebrating Their 'Victory' in California Meal and Rest Period Class Action."

Following is an excerpt:

More than a few media sources have reported on the March 10, 2016 wage-hour "victory" by a class of Taco Bell employees on meal period claims in a jury trial in the Eastern District of California. A closer review of the case and the jury verdict suggests that those ...

A featured story on Employment Law This Week is the Ninth Circuit's backing of the Department of Labor's rule on "tip pooling."

In 2011, the Department of Labor issued a rule that barred restaurant and hospitality employers from including kitchen staff in “tip pools,” which are sometimes used to meet an employer’s minimum wage requirements. The DOL ruled that kitchen staff should be excluded from pools even if the tips are not required to meet minimum wage obligations. Two district court decisions held that the department does not have the authority to regulate this ...

Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, an Associate at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the technology industry: "Reminder: All Philadelphia Employers Must Post New Ban-the-Box Poster."

Following is an excerpt:

One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and on ...

Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, an Associate at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the hospitality industry: "Reminder: All Philadelphia Employers Must Post New Ban-the-Box Poster."

Following is an excerpt:

One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and ...

[caption id="attachment_2487" align="alignright" width="113"] Nancy L. Gunzenhauser[/caption]

One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and on premises, where applicants and employees will be most likely to notice and read it.

The amended law strengthens the prohibition on requesting criminal conviction information prior to a ...

The top story on Employment Law This Week is the EEOC's announcement of new nationwide disclosure rules for position statements.

Retroactive to January 1, 2016, employers should expect the disclosure of their position statements to the charging party, even if the statement contains confidential information. Under the new policy, complainants have the right to request access to the statement and respond to it, but any response from the charging party will not be disclosed to the employer in turn. Lauri Rasnick, a Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green, has more on what this ...

Section 806 of SOX prohibits publicly traded companies, as well as their subsidiaries, contractors, subcontractors, and agents, from taking adverse personnel actions against employees for reporting activity that they reasonably believe constitutes mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, or a violation of any Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rule or federal law relating to fraud against shareholders. In recognition of the legislative intent underlying SOX—to provide strong and broad-based protections for employees who report suspected ...

On February 25, 2016, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Whistleblower Augmented Reward and Nonretaliation Act of 2016 (or WARN Act of 2016) (pdf). The bill proposes expanded protections for individuals who blow the whistle on financial fraud and securities violations and, if enacted, could have significant implications for financial services employees and employers alike.  Specifically, the WARN Act of 2016 aims to strengthen the protections and incentives available to financial crimes whistleblowers by amending the ...