Workforce Bulletin

Guest post from the OSHA Law Update blog, by our colleague Valerie Butera, at Epstein Becker Green.

Retailers, get ready for OSHA’s revised recordkeeping and reporting rules, effective January 1, 2015.

As I note in my Act Now Advisory—“What Do OSHA’s Revised Recordkeeping and Reporting Rules Really Mean for Retailers?”—several additional retail industries will be required to keep records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses, and several are no longer subject to the rules. The new reporting requirements apply to all retailers, even those included in the ...

Our colleagues Michael Kun and Jeffrey Ruzal at Epstein Becker Green have a Wage & Hour Defense Blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Unusual Wage Payment Issue in 2015 for Many Employers: 27 Bi-Weekly Pay Periods, Not 26.”

Following is an excerpt:

There is an unusual wage issue for 2015 that will affect many employers that pay exempt employees on a bi-weekly basis (rather than weekly, semi-monthly or monthly).

It is an issue that may have both financial and legal repercussions.

And it is an issue we suspect many employers had not noticed or considered.

With 52 weeks ...

Our colleagues Michael Kun and Jeffrey Ruzal at Epstein Becker Green have a Wage & Hour Defense Blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Unusual Wage Payment Issue in 2015 for Many Employers: 27 Bi-Weekly Pay Periods, Not 26.”

Following is an excerpt:

There is an unusual wage issue for 2015 that will affect many employers that pay exempt employees on a bi-weekly basis (rather than weekly, semi-monthly or monthly).

It is an issue that may have both financial and legal repercussions.

And it is an issue we suspect many employers had not noticed or considered.

With 52 weeks ...

See below for a recording of my recent webinar, “OSHA Forecast: Developments to Watch in 2015 and Beyond.”

Topics include:

• Where we are now and the direction of OSHA in 2015
• Recording and recordkeeping requirements
• Whistleblowing and its impact on your business
• Preparing for ...

Our colleagues Adam Abrahms, Steven Swirsky, and Martin Stanberry at Epstein Becker Green have a Management Memo blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: "NLRB Issues 13 Complaints Alleging McDonald’s and Franchisees Are Joint-Employers."

Following is an excerpt:

While the General Counsel’s actions are alarming, particularly for businesses that rely upon a franchise model, the issuance of these complaints comes as little surprise because, as we reported in July of this year, the General Counsel had previously announced the decision to take this ...

I am pleased to announce that LexisNexis has recognized this blog as one of the “Top Blogs for Workers' Compensation and Workplace Issues” for 2014.

According to LexisNexis, this year’s honorees include “the best of the best—those legal blogs that provide insightful analysis and those business-oriented blogs that offer valuable tidbits of practical information and best practice tips for employers, insurers, risk managers and other professionals.”

In recognizing our blog, LexisNexis notes that “members of the practice group offer a plethora of posts on ...

Our colleague Jeffrey Ruzal at Epstein Becker Green recently wrote a Take 5 newsletter focused on the hospitality industry: "Tip-Related Claims Will Continue to Be Served Up as the Lawsuit du Jour Against the Hospitality Industry in 2015."

Following is an excerpt:

The hospitality industry is particularly fertile ground for a wide variety of wage and hour issues, which continue to plague management through steadily increasing federal and state department of labor investigations and enforcement actions and the seemingly endless onslaught of private wage and hour lawsuits ...

Our colleague Steven Swirsky at Epstein Becker Green wrote an advisory on an NLRB ruling that affects all employers: "NLRB Holds That Employees Have the Right to Use Company Email Systems for Union Organizing - Union and Non-Union Employers Are All Affected." Following is an excerpt:

In its Purple Communications, Inc., decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has ruled that “employee use of email for statutorily protected communications on nonworking time must presumptively be permitted” by employers that provide employees with access to ...

Our colleague Steven Swirsky at Epstein Becker Green wrote an advisory on an NLRB ruling that affects all employers: "NLRB Holds That Employees Have the Right to Use Company Email Systems for Union Organizing - Union and Non-Union Employers Are All Affected." Following is an excerpt:

In its Purple Communications, Inc., decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has ruled that “employee use of email for statutorily protected communications on nonworking time must presumptively be permitted” by employers that provide employees with access to ...

Our colleague Steven Swirsky at Epstein Becker Green wrote an advisory on an NLRB ruling that affects all employers: "NLRB Holds That Employees Have the Right to Use Company Email Systems for Union Organizing - Union and Non-Union Employers Are All Affected." Following is an excerpt:

In its Purple Communications, Inc., decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has ruled that “employee use of email for statutorily protected communications on nonworking time must presumptively be permitted” by employers that provide employees with access to ...