Workforce Bulletin

Back in March, we answered five frequently asked questions related to OSHA inspections.  We received so much positive feedback from that post, and so many requests to address additional OSHA questions that we decided to launch a monthly series here on the OSHA Law Update Blog for OSHA FAQ posts.  For each of the posts in this OSHA FAQ Series, we have included both a textual response and a video response with slides and audio.

In this post, OSHA FAQ #3, we address a very common question regarding whether (and for how long) employers can ask OSHA to delay the start of an inspection to allow a ...

Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Health Care & Life Sciences and Labor & Employment practitioners in a webinar series for retail employers. Registration is complimentary.

On Friday, November 30, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander offered a one-hour webinar titled “The New Wellness Program Regulations, Part of a Webinar Series on the New ACA Implementation Regulations: Employer Impact.”

The webinar discussed:

• Proposed regulations and the impact these regulations could have on your overall wellness strategy
• Areas where employer ...

Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Health Care & Life Sciences and Labor & Employment practitioners in a webinar series for Hospitality employers.

On Friday, November 30, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander offered a one-hour webinar titled “The New Wellness Program Regulations, Part of a Webinar Series on the New ACA Implementation Regulations: Employer Impact.”

The webinar discussed:

• the proposed regulations and the impact these regulations could have on your overall wellness strategy
• areas where employer comment is needed

Our colleagues Maxine Neuhauser and Amy E. Hatcher have written a client advisory: "Employer Posting Requirements Under New Jersey Law." Following is an excerpt:

The list of employee notices that New Jersey employers are required to post has grown this year. Accordingly, as 2012 comes to a close, New Jersey employers should take some time to review the notification requirements relating to employees' workplace rights and responsibilities under state law.

Employers are mandated under New Jersey law to display official posters informing their employees of the law relating to ...

by Michael D. Thompson

A posting and distribution requirement added to New Jersey’s prohibition on discrimination in pay went into effect on November 19, 2012.  Employers will not, however, be obligated to comply with the requirement until the New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development issues the required notification form.

The notification form will explain the prohibition against gender discrimination in pay, compensation, benefits or other terms and conditions of employment (as set forth in N.J.S.A. § 34:11-56.2). 

Once the form is prepared, every New ...

By William Stein

In rolling out arbitration policies, retail employers should heed the recent California Court of Appeal decision Gorlach v. The Sports Club Co. That case gives employers reason to be cautious when asking employees to sign agreements requiring them to arbitrate any disputes arising out of their employment.  In that case, the trial court found the former Director of Human Resources, who was responsible for obtaining employees’ signatures on a mutual agreement to arbitrate claims, intentionally misled the company into believing that had signed the agreement ...

By Steven M. Swirsky

On Friday, November 16, I participated in a free 75-minute webinar discussion with Lafe E. Solomon, Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.  The webinar was moderated by Terence H. McGuire of the Practical Law Company.  We discussed:

• Factors that the NLRB considers when deciding whether to prosecute unfair labor practices based on these employment practices.
• Legal considerations surrounding these employment practices besides compliance with the National Labor Relations Act.
• The NLRB’s stance on what is and is not a lawful at will ...

By Amy Messigian

On September 8, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Workplace Religious Freedom Act into law.  The law, which becomes effective on January 1, 2013, amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (the “Act”) to include a religious dress practice or a religious grooming practice as a belief or observance covered under the Act’s protections against religious discrimination.

The new law also specifies that it is not reasonable to segregate an employee from the public or other employees as an accommodation of the individual’s religious ...

By Michael Kun

Employers with operations in California have become aware in recent years of an obscure provision in California Wage Orders that requires “suitable seating” for some employees. Not surprisingly, many became aware of this provision through the great many class action lawsuits filed by plaintiffs’ counsel who also just discovered the provision. The law on this issue is scant. However, at least two pending cases should clarify whether and when employers must provide seats – a case against Bank of America that is currently before the Ninth Circuit Court of ...