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Please Click HerePosted on June 4, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The National Labor Relations Board continues to reach out to provide protection to employees. In a recent decision, the Board concluded that an outburst in the workplace by an employee was considered protected speech, because the employee did not explicitly threaten violence and did not act in a violent fashion. The employee did, in a […]
Posted on June 3, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision highlighted the importance of employers being very careful when making employment decisions to ensure that part of the rationale for a decision is not discriminatory in nature. In this decision, Milwaukee County terminated a manager for violation of County policies on use of technology. During the discussion with […]
Posted on May 29, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
There is a lot of controversy today about the right of an employer to take adverse employment action (i.e. firing someone) for off-duty conduct. Employers have more access to things happening outside the workplace and are very concerned about their overall reputation in the community. Unfortunately, there are various laws that protect an employee from […]
Posted on May 21, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Many municipalities and states have adopted a law that prohibits texting while someone is driving. Individuals are prohibited from texting or even dialing the phone while driving. This prohibition is probably violated much more than it is complied with, but regardless of what the prohibitions may be, employers may still be “on the hook” for […]
Posted on May 21, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
An employer would normally think that it could pass a work rule that says an employee does not have access to company property when the employee is off-duty and not working. This makes sense, because there is no reason for the employee to be on company property if they are not there to perform work. […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The world of employment and benefits law changes on a daily basis. New decisions come out defining the responsibilities of an employer or limit the ability of an employer to make business decisions. Lawyers at Ruder Ware are conscious of these daily changes and will use this blogspot to keep you updated about developments in […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Two recent decisions by the National Labor Relations Board again shows the intrusion of the Board into the business of running a company. In these decisions, the NLRB (by a 2-1 vote) held that an employer violated federal labor law by: Establishing a company policy that prohibited employees from disclosing confidential personnel information and documents […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
I read that Vermont was the 8th state to regulate the use of credit reports or credit-related information for doing background checks. It may be time to rethink the use of credit-related information for conducting background checks or making other employment decisions. Eight states have now passed legislation that regulates the use of credit-related information […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A teacher’s aide in Michigan was disciplined for not giving her Facebook password to her boss. The boss wanted to look at her Facebook page because a picture of her coworker had been posted to the employee’s Facebook page. The refusal to provide the password formed the basis for disciplinary action against the employee. Personally, […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The Western Federal District Court, in a recent decision, held that several provisions of Wisconsin Act 10 were unconstitutional. The provisions included the section that required public unions to recertify every year by a majority vote of all employees eligible to vote to be in the union. The decision also struck down that provision of […]