Quirky Questions

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A New Question Every Week

Nearly every day, executives and managers, and the in-house counsel and Human Resources professionals who work with them, are confronted with unanticipated questions regarding the workforce. Just when they think they have "seen it all," along comes a new and often stranger scenario involving an odd twist to an area they thought they fully understood. These individuals often find themselves back at square one when trying to construct an appropriate response and devise a creative solution to the problem presented. Sometimes these "Quirky Questions" can be resolved easily; other times, they implicate practical and legal issues that are not immediately apparent.

This Quirky Employment Questions Blog addresses unanticipated questions regarding the workforce.

We encourage you to submit your thoughts and reactions to the questions presented. We also encourage you to submit questions that you would like to see addressed, subject to these guidelines.

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Category: Labor Law

The General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), Jennifer Abruzzo, has recently issued two memorandums significantly changing how employers must draft separation agreements and opining on the enforceability of noncompetition agreements. Can she do that?

 

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Abruzzo has been busy. Within the last few months, she has issued two notable memorandums that could have significant impacts on how employers must comply with the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). It is important to note that certain provisions of the NLRA apply to all employers, not only those that currently have unions or are facing union election petitions....

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Labor Law, Post-Employment Restrictive Covenants
Book pages fanned out

The NLRB Reverses Course (again) on Employee Outbursts and Protected Concerted Activity

 

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What happens when an employee starts yelling at the boss, makes profane social media posts about work, or engages in other “abusive conduct?”  In many cases, employers can follow their own policy and impose discipline if appropriate.  But, where profanity and heated outbursts come up in the context of complaints about the terms and conditions of the employee’s job, the...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: At Will Employment, Discipline and Discharge, Labor Law, Workplace Violence
Can employers require employees to accept confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations in exchange for severance pay?

Can employers require employees to accept confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations in exchange for severance pay?

 

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Employee reductions and terminations are an unfortunate result of economic downturns. Even during good economic times, many companies face the need to reduce their workforce or terminate the employment of individual employees. In such circumstances, employers may seek to offer severance pay in exchange for certain releases and promises by the departing employee requiring a severance agreement. The drafting of...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Employee Handbook / Policies, General, Labor Law, Post-Employment Restrictive Covenants

How the NLRA Applies to All Workplaces, Not Just Unionized Ones: Implications for Workplace Conduct Policies, Social Media Policies, and Employee Discipline (Including After the Supreme Court’s Abortion Decision)

 

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When the subject of the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA,” or, more succinctly, the “Act”) is broached, employment lawyers often hear a familiar refrain: “The Act doesn’t apply to me because my employees are not unionized.” This widespread belief is incorrect. In actuality, all employers in the United States are subject to the Act in an important way that...

POSTED IN Employee Handbook / Policies, Labor Law
As States Reopen, Can Employees Refuse to Return to Work Based on Fear of Exposure to COVID-19?

As States Reopen, Can Employees Refuse to Return to Work Based on Fear of Exposure to COVID-19?

 

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As many states progress through different phases of reopening, companies are preparing for their employees to return to work. Employers are also noting, however, that some states are seeing COVID-19 cases surge.  This has generated some concerns from employees who do not want to return to the work place. Can employers require employees to return to work if the employees...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: California Questions, Disability Discrimination, General, Labor Law, Retaliation, Unemployment Benefits
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What Do Employers Need to Know Following the Passage of California’s New Law on Independent Contractor Misclassification?

 

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On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code, thereby entitling them to the protections afforded by those laws. The bill codifies the standard set out in last year’s California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex Operations West, Inc....

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: California Questions, General, Independent Contractors, Labor Law
Litigation may be Key in Response to Rising Denials of Employment-Based Visas. What Strategies Should Employers Consider when Hiring or Retaining Noncitizen Professionals?

Litigation may be Key in Response to Rising Denials of Employment-Based Visas. What Strategies Should Employers Consider when Hiring or Retaining Noncitizen Professionals?

 

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Many U.S. employers have recently experienced frustration over legal obstacles to keeping high quality foreign-national employees. These valuable employees have often been with the company since finishing a degree and sometimes even interning with the employer. Other employers experience delays in hiring foreign nationals needed for specialized positions despite the obvious qualifications of the candidate. These employers’ frustrations reflect the...

POSTED IN General, International Employment Law, Labor Law, Litigation Issues
Second Circuit Holds Pro-Union Sentiment Outweighs Impropriety of Profanity-Laden Rant Against Supervisor, His Mother, and “His Entire ****ing Family”

Second Circuit Holds Pro-Union Sentiment Outweighs Impropriety of Profanity-Laden Rant Against Supervisor, His Mother, and “His Entire ****ing Family”

 

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Use of profanity by employees, whether in the workplace, outside the workplace, or on social media, presents difficult legal issues for the employer, as highlighted by a recent Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning the firing of an employee who engaged in a highly profane Facebook rant against a supervisor. Although an employer has a justifiable interest in keeping...

POSTED IN Labor Law, Retaliation, Social Media

Quirky Question #279: Concerted Activity in 140 Characters or Less

 

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Question: I am a manager in a medium-sized retailer that has locations and employees in 16 states.  The company maintains a social media policy, which was recently updated.  Last week, I noticed that one of our employees posted some pretty nasty things about the company on Twitter.  She accused the company of not treating employees fairly because some had to...

POSTED IN Food & Agriculture Industry Group, Labor Law, Social Media

Quirky Question #269: Like it or Not – Facebook Post Protected Under the NLRA

 

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Question: I own a small manufacturing company that employs 25-35 employees, depending on our workload.  Over the years, a number of my customers and my employees have “friended” me on Facebook.  Last week, I saw that one of our employees had posted a comment that I don’t pay enough overtime and that I’m, “f—ing cheap,” because I don’t give enough...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Food & Agriculture Industry Group, Labor Law, Social Media, Wage and Hour Issues