Retail Labor and Employment Law

Retail Labor and Employment Law

News, Updates, and Insights for Retail Employers

Monthly Archives: March 2012

Posted on by Carrie Corcoran

Law Introduced in NYC Council that Prohibits Discrimination Based on Unemployment Status

By Carrie Corcoran

(Revised as of 4/12/12)

On March 28, 2012, legislation was introduced before the New York City Council (“NYC Council”) that, if enacted, will extend employment discrimination protections to unemployed job seekers.  In a climate of persistently high unemployment rates and many discouraged – and disgruntled – jobless persons, it should come as no surprise that, along with New York City, legislatures across the nation are considering drastic measures.  Some of these laws have even passed. 

A year ago, New Jersey was the first state out of the gate when it enacted legislation to protect unemployed job seekers.  … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Is Jack Gross the Next Lily Ledbetter?

by Michael A. Kalish and Adam Tomiak

Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. recently introduced the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, a bill intended to lessen the burden on age discrimination plaintiffs under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”).  The bill seeks to return age discrimination plaintiffs to the standard the Senators believe they were subject to prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U.S. __, 129 S. Ct. 2343 (2009).

In Gross, the Supreme Court held that age discrimination plaintiffs must show, … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Why Companies Need to Care about Caregivers: The EEOC’s Focus on Caregiver Discrimination

By Lauri F. Rasnick and Margaret C. Thering

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has once again turned its focus to caregiver discrimination.  On February 15, 2012, for the first time in nearly 30 years, the EEOC held a meeting about caregiver and pregnancy discrimination.  As “caregivers” are not specifically included as a “protected category” under any federal law, the EEOC discussed the various laws which would possibly prohibit certain caregiver discrimination, such as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Amendments Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act.  The EEOC specifically discussed accommodating pregnant women under … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

NLRB Acting General Counsel Issues Follow-Up Report on Social Media Cases

by Steven M. Swirsky and Michael F. McGahan

On January 25, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) Acting General Counsel (“AGC”) Lafe Solomon issued a second report on unfair labor practice cases involving social media issues. We discussed his earlier report in our Act Now Advisory of October 4, 2011.

The new report covers an additional 14 cases, all of which fall into the same two categories as the cases discussed in the earlier report, namely: (1) termination of employees resulting from statements made in social media forums about their working conditions or their employers; and/or (2) claims that … Continue Reading

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