Articles and Blogs

The NLRB’s Acting General Counsel issued a Memorandum  on May 30, 2012 clarifying and outlining its position on the lawfulness of employer social media policies.  The Memorandum discusses several recent cases where the NLRB determined that certain private employer policies were overbroad and interfered with employee rights under the NLRA.  The section of most interest... READ MORE

The IRS recently issued Notice 2012-40 providing guidance on the $2,500 maximum annual limit on employee contributions to health care flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”) as set forth in the Affordable Care Act. The full text of the Notice can be found here. The Act states that the limit is effective January 1, 2013 for... READ MORE

Starbucks has a reputation for making great coffee.  It values that reputation and when employees use obscenities in the store in front of customers something has to be done. That’s what happened at a Starbucks store in Manhattan where a vocal union organizer got even more vocal in the store and used obscenities in... READ MORE

The ADA requires employers to attempt to reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability.  But what about a Certified Mammography Technician who suffered 14 epileptic seizures on the job in a two year period? In this case a federal court held that this hospital employee was not qualified and also presented a direct threat... READ MORE

Complaints of harassment don’t always result in liability for an employer.  Here’s a case in point. A Syrian born Muslim physician employed at Stroger Hospital in Cook County wrote letters and lodged formal complaints over the years about his treatment by a female coworker who was also a physician in the same department.  The... READ MORE

Resumé fraud.  Resumé padding.  Falsified job applications.  Call it what you like, but the topic has figured prominently in the media as of late due to the discovery that a CEO of an international internet company, allegedly embellished his resumé. READ MORE

Good news for private employers.  Today, May 14, 2012 the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the NLRB lacked a quorum when it took a final vote to issue it’s hotly debated “Quickie Election Rule”.  Consequently, the Rule that would have had the effect of drastically speeding up union... READ MORE

Normally a physician who is not actually “employed” by a hospital is not an employee who would be protected by anti-discrimination laws. But it’s not always that simple. In fact, it can be quite complicated and risky for a hospital if the relationship is not clearly established. If the relationship is not clear then... READ MORE

Under the ADA an employer is obligated to find a “reasonable accommodation,” if possible, for a qualified individual with a disability, which would allow that individual to perform the essential functions of his or her job or to otherwise remain employed by the employer.  Such an accommodation can take various forms, including reassignment of... READ MORE

Sometimes having a good No-Solicitation and No-Distribution Policy is not good enough when supervisors warn about activities that aren’t covered by otherwise lawful policies.  In this case a hospital that was having problems with its incumbent union had previously established a pretty good policy.  That policy provided: “Solicitation/ Distribution.  Employees are forbidden from soliciting... READ MORE