Workforce Bulletin

In a decision emphasizing the need for employers to focus on data security, on June 15, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by nine former employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment who allege the company’s negligence caused a massive data breach.  Corona v. Sony Pictures Entm’t, Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-09600 (C.D. Ca. June 15, 2015).

In November 2014, Sony was the victim of a cyber-attack, which has widely been reported as perpetrated by North Korean hackers in relation for “The Interview,” a Sony comedy ...

Although OSHA’s new reporting rule has been in effect for almost seven months now, it has caused some major changes in the way that OSHA operates.  Since the new reporting rule went into effect on January 1, 2015, OSHA has received more than 5,000 reports of work-related deaths, inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye.  As OSHA anticipated, compliance with the rule has focused the agency’s attention on industries and hazards that it had not focused on before.  For example, because of the unexpectedly high number of reports of amputations from supermarkets ...

It is important for financial services employers to remember that the National Labor Relations Act protects their employees even when those employees are non-union, and that when groups of employees engage in discussions about their terms and conditions of employment via the employer’s email system, that conduct may constitute protected activity for which the employees may not be punished.  A recent example is highlighted by my colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser at Epstein Becker Green in a Management Memo blog post: “NLRB Dramatically Educates Private School on Meaning of ...

My colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser at Epstein Becker Green has a Management Memo blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “NLRB Dramatically Educates Private School on Meaning of Concerted Protected Activity. ”

Following is an excerpt:

While we have been reminding readers of the fact that  the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) protects employees regardless of whether they are represented by a union and the Act applies to non-unionized workforces, too, recently  a National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) Administrative Law Judge issued a ...

My colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser at Epstein Becker Green has a Management Memo blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “NLRB Dramatically Educates Private School on Meaning of Concerted Protected Activity. ”

Following is an excerpt:

While we have been reminding readers of the fact that  the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) protects employees regardless of whether they are represented by a union and the Act applies to non-unionized workforces, too, recently  a National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) Administrative Law Judge issued a ...

On June 1, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court revived a religious discrimination claim against Abercrombie & Fitch (“Abercrombie”) after the fashion retailer denied employment to a Muslim woman because the headscarf, or hijab, worn as part of her religious observance violated the company’s dress code.  EEOC v, Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., 2015 U.S. LEXIS 3718 (June 1, 2015). In overturning summary judgment granted in favor of Abercrombie, the Court held that Title VII does not require proof that the employer had actual knowledge of the individual’s need for religious ...

My colleagues Nancy L. Gunzenhauser and Barry A. Guryan published a Health Employment And Labor Law blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Massachusetts AGO Provides Safe Harbor on New Sick Leave Law.”

Following is an excerpt:

On May 1, 2015, we reported on proposed regulations to the Massachusetts paid sick leave law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2015.  The regulations have not yet been adopted, and in light of the uncertainty about many provisions of the law, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has issued a “Safe Harbor for ...

On May 1, 2015, we reported on proposed regulations to the Massachusetts paid sick leave law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2015.  The regulations have not yet been adopted, and in light of the uncertainty about many provisions of the law, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has issued a “Safe Harbor for Employers with Existing Paid Time Off Policies.”  Under the safe harbor, any employer with a paid time off policy in existence as of May 1, 2015, which provides employees with the right to use at least 30 hours of paid time off per year, will be deemed in compliance with the ...