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Nuns, Firefighters and Title VII: Are Volunteers Eligible for Protection?

March 2, 2015
Posted In Civil Rights, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Volunteer

Volunteerism is a staple of American life. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, 62.6 million Americans volunteered nearly 7.7 million hours in 2013, adding up to an estimated value of $173 billion. Organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and Habitat for Humanity depend on volunteers to serve the communities in which they live. But even beyond not-for-profit charitable organizations, for-profit businesses routinely open their doors to students and others who are willing to file, prepare mailings, or shred documents in exchange for some experience to put on their resume. More >

“Too Black”: Waitress’s Claim of Color Bias Raises Novel Title VII Claim

February 25, 2015
Posted In Adverse Employment Action, Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination Laws, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prevents discrimination in employment decisions based upon an employee’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Bias claims based on a claimant’s skin color are nearly unanimously predicated upon bias against ‘race’ rather than ‘color.’ Circumstances can arise, as the Fifth Circuit found, where ‘color,’ rather than ‘race,’ is a discrete type of alleged discrimination. In a novel holding, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in Etienne v. Spanish Lake Truck & Casino Plaza, LLC that a separate claim of ‘color’ can provide the necessary foundation for a claim of discrimination based on ‘race.’ More >

Employment at Will Comes with Many Exceptions

February 24, 2015
Posted In At-will employment, Employment Discrimination Laws, Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Kentucky employment law generally recognizes that most employment is “at-will” – meaning, employees serve at the pleasure of the employer, and termination of an employee does not require “just cause.” There are several circumstances, however, where laws and other factors prohibit employers from terminating an employee without a well-documented showing of cause. Employers should be aware of the circumstances under which they may not terminate an employee without just cause. More >

Making Sure Your FMLA Policy Covers the Basics

February 20, 2015
Posted In Compliance, Employment Law, Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)

Too often, employers assume that their policies comply with the basic tenets of regulatory provisions and proceed to other details without regular, careful review. This complacency, however, is where mistakes multiply, which can result in costly outcomes. In the case of Tilley v. Kalamazoo County Road Commission, for instance, the court reiterated that failure to review basic FMLA rules and train employees accordingly could lead to an unwelcome result. More >

Employees vs. Independent Contractors: The Consequences of Misclassification

February 18, 2015
Posted In Employment Law, Independent Contractors

The distinction between independent contractors and employees carries more burdens, consequences, and decisions than ever before. In addition to the tax consequences, there are health care compliance consequences, workers’ compensation consequences, and even intellectual property consequences. Understanding the consequences of misclassification is paramount to properly structure an employer’s workforce. More >

When is a Lunch Break Not a Lunch Break? The Sixth Circuit and Ruffin v. MotorCity Casino

February 11, 2015
Posted In Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Hopefully you aren’t reading this on your lunch break, hoping that you can then count the time spent as compensable work time, especially if you’re in the Sixth Circuit. In the case of Ruffin v. MotorCity Casino, the Sixth Circuit held that casino security guards tasked with monitoring their radios over their lunch break were not engaged in compensable work for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This may be less than good news for employees, but it might provide some leeway in the future as to what employers may permissibly ask employees for on their lunch breaks. More >

Hair Trigger: When are Employee Notice Provisions Triggered under the FMLA?

By Cynthia L. Effinger on February 4, 2015
Posted In Employment Law, Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)

It can be hard to know when an employee is invoking rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). Every employer wants FMLA-requested leave to come in the form of 30 days advance notice, filed in the appropriate manner pursuant to company policy. However, a triggering event for FMLA leave can come from something as simple as an employee asking for a day off for medical reasons. It’s important to understand what the FMLA requires of employers in that instance to fulfill their responsibilities. More >

What Employers Can (Probably) Expect from the FLSA Overtime Exemption (Yet to Be) Proposed Rules

By Cynthia L. Effinger on February 2, 2015
Posted In Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Overtime Pay

With apologies to Tom Petty, with regard to upcoming proposed regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act set to increase the overtime exemption salary, the waiting is the hardest part. Employers everywhere will likely experience some budgetary change to comply, but it’s hard to know exactly what that change will be. At the same time, knowing what may be coming down the pike can only prepare employers more for how to handle the final regulations when they come into effect. More >

This Party is BYOD, Part Two

January 28, 2015
Posted In Bring Your Own Device, BYOD, Cloud, Employment Law, Internet & Media Law

The discussion in the last post focused on reasons for allowing BYOD in the work place and some traps to watch out for, which continues below. More >

This Party is BYOD, Part One

January 26, 2015
Posted In Bring Your Own Device, BYOD, Cloud, Employment Law, Internet & Media Law

The word you’re looking for is “ubiquity.” It describes the near-total assimilation of technology into every aspect of our lives. The words “cell phone” are falling by the wayside as the words “smart phone” take their place, and soon enough the word “phone” might be dropped altogether as a relic of a time when people used them primarily (and ever so quaintly) for actually talking to each other. These relatively recent smart devices are upending the traditional separations between work and home, with uncertain results. For some employers, “bring your own device” (“BYOD”) is considered a boon, allowing employees to stay connected to the workplace at all times through the comfort and convenience of their personal devices. For others, BYOD could be a nightmare, with IT advisory company Gartner calling it, cheekily, “a disruptive phenomenon where employees bring non-company IT into the organization and demand to be connected to everything – without proper accountability or oversight.”[1] Chances are good that the true answer might be a little bit of both as lines continue to blur across the wirelessly-connected workforce. Gartner estimates that as many as 90% of workplaces will have some aspect of BYOD in place by 2017. We’ll explore the reasoning behind BYOD and the pitfalls that can accompany it before delving into what makes for a strong BYOD policy. More >

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