News & Insights: Employment Blog

 

Our News & Insights

RSS Feed

Employment Blog RSS Feed

Search News & Insights

Keep Up To Date

For invitations to our events and updates on key legal issues and business concerns:

Please Click Here

One-Year Delay for Pay or Play Does Not Affect October 1 Opening of the Marketplace (Maybe)!

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

The Obama Administration’s announcement of the one year delay for the employer shared responsibility requirements (the “pay or play” mandate) did not directly impact the October 1 opening of the health insurance exchanges (now known as the Marketplace). Last month I had the opportunity to sit on a panel at a public forum here in […]

Waiting For The Affordable Care Act Marketplace To Open

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

Late last month I returned to the scene of an earlier crime (October 2012) and once again met with employer-members of the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce to talk about the Affordable Care Act and the October 1 opening of the Marketplace (formerly known as the Exchange). I think it is safe to say […]

Partially Deaf Worker May Require Accommodation

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

I wrote several blogs about potential areas of new disability claims relating to the use of caffeine and a new mental health disorder that may affect non-productive employees. A recent federal court case held that a partially deaf retail store pharmacy technician was entitled to file a disability claim when her employer placed the employee […]

Management Comments can Create a “Smoking Gun” for Discrimination Claims

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit gives a prime example of how comments by an employer-representative can support a claim of discrimination. A sales manager in his late fifties showed a potential basis for a claim of age discrimination because of the comments made by a younger supervisor. […]

Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Announces Insurers Participating in Marketplace

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

On August 6 the Wisconsin Office of Commissioner of Insurance released the names of the insurers who have applied to participate in Wisconsin’s federally facilitated Exchange (the Wisconsin Marketplace). Thirteen insurers have applied to participate in the individual Marketplace (marketing qualified health plans to individuals only), while nine insurers have agreed to participate in the […]

Employee Requests for Accommodations for Non-Traditional Religious Observances – Practice What You “PREACH”

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

Most employers are at least remotely familiar with the requirement under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide reasonable accommodations in response to employee requests to participate in religious observances or practices, if doing so does not cause demonstrable (not hypothetical or speculative) undue hardship to the employer’s business operations. Recently, […]

Fox Searchlight Decision Brings Risks of Using Unpaid Interns Out of the Dark

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

Recently, a federal court in New York concluded that a group of workers (production workers who worked on production of the film Black Swan) classified as “unpaid interns” by a motion picture distribution company should have been classified as employees for purposes of federal wage and overtime laws. The case is Glatt v. Fox Searchlight […]

Federal Court Decision Supports Strict Call-In Procedures

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

Many employers maintain no-fault attendance policies requiring advanced notice of absences and a voluntary quit provision when an employee fails to report to work for two days without providing notice. These policies assist companies in meeting client deadlines and properly monitoring employee performance. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that an employer may […]

Duty to Accommodate Pre-Existing Conditions of an Employee?

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

There has always been a question whether an employer is required to provide accommodations to an employee who has suffered an injury that impacts the employee’s ability to work when the injury occurred before the employee was hired. These types of injuries are called pre-existing injuries or pre-existing conditions and many employers believe they do […]

What’s in Store for the Future – National Labor Relations Board

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

On August 22, I spoke to the Employment Law Institute sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin on the topic of, “National Labor Relations Board:  What Will the Future Bring?” This topic focused on the recent congressional approval of new members to the NLRB which will eliminate legal challenges going forward to decisions made by the […]