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Please Click HerePosted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Recently, while paging through a set of “boilerplate,” employer FMLA notification forms, I noticed a field/blank for employers to insert how frequently an employee seeking FMLA leave is to provide updates concerning return-to-work status. Believe it or not, my very next thought was about Dan Rathers’ 1986 mugging and the R.E.M. song Rathers’ mugging later […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Recent action by the United States Supreme Court has clarified the duty of accommodation that an employer must make under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The action of the U.S. Supreme Court was to deny review of a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision involving United Airlines. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision held […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
As a labor negotiator, I rely upon coffee to help me through the long days and long evenings that often occur when negotiating a new labor agreement. I have come to hold coffee in highest esteem as my best friend. I recently read that coffee may deter the chemicals that are responsible for memory loss […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Mary Ellen Schill
On Thursday evening June 13, I had the pleasure of participating in a public forum sponsored by the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service entitled, “Preparing for the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace: A View from Wisconsin.” As one of three panelists, I was asked to talk about how employers large and small are preparing […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
All sports fans know that in baseball, it is a critical advantage to be the home team. This is because the home team bats last in the ninth inning and has the last crack at hitting the game winning home run. A recent case in New York (Allen v. Chanel, Inc.) illustrated why it is […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its long-awaited opinion in the Vance v. Ball State case. The Court established the proper definition of “supervisor” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which governs, among other things, sexual harassment under federal law). The Court espoused the Seventh Circuit approach (the […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Mary Ellen Schill
This morning, in a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. On equal protection grounds, the Court held that if a state has recognized same sex marriages, then the federal government must honor those marriages with respect to federal […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
On Monday, the United State Supreme Court granted certiorari (meaning they have agreed to hear a case) on whether the appointments by President Obama in January 2012 to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are valid appointments or improper application of the “between” session presidential appointment process. President Obama appointed two members to the NLRB […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Mary Ellen Schill
The Treasury Department announced late Tuesday afternoon that it was delaying until 2015 the employer “shared responsibility” mandate, the Affordable Care Act mandate for large employers, until 2015. This means that employers with more than 50 full time equivalents will NOT be subject to penalties in 2014 for failing to offer coverage, or failing to […]
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
I wrote several weeks ago about the changes made to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the suggestion that caffeine withdrawal was now a disability that required some level of accommodation from an employer. Another change is the recognition of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as a new disability. This diagnosis includes […]