Blog Posts: Taking Care of HR Business
Visit the Full BlogHuman resource professionals, supervisors, and company executives alike face a constantly changing and evolving legal landscape. Verrill's Taking Care of HR Business blog is here to keep you up to date on the newest and most important legal developments for employers.
Podcast: Affinity Groups in the Workplace
While affinity groups can be a great marketing tool for employers to attract and retain workers, as well as to foster new ideas, they can also create a great deal of legal liability. For some background, affinity groups are generally formalized groups that share similarities of some sort, whether...
Podcast: The New Form I-9: A Step-by-Step Guide to Avoiding Common and Costly Mistakes
While you may be familiar with Form I-9s (since everyone that has hired an employee since 1986 should have them on file), you may not know that beginning on September 18, 2017, employers will be required to use a new I-9 Form. The changes were announced last month through...
Maine Department of Labor Directly Clarifies Its Position on Drug Testing & Marijuana
Based off of information received in a Portland Press Herald article, we previously noted that the Maine Department of Labor Director of Policy, Operations and Communications, Julie Rabinowitz, reported to the legislature's Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee that businesses with Maine-state drug testing policies should not test job applicants and...
The Bay State Rules Qualified Medicinal Marijuana User Has Civil Remedy Against Her Employer
Last week, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued an opinion in Cristina Barbutos v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, SJC-12226 (Ma. July 17, 2017), finding that an employee qualified to use marijuana under the Commonwealth's medicinal marijuana statute had a cause of action against her former employer through...
Termination of Wife Swapping Deputies is Constitutional
As the Fifth Circuit noted, the facts are undisputed. The Chief Deputy Sheriff learned that two sheriff's deputies had "taken up residence in the other's house, exchanging spouses without having divorced their current wives." As a result he placed the two deputies on leave for violating the Sheriff's Code...
You Say Paternity, I Say Pawternity: Creative Leave Policies that Work for Your Culture
We talk a lot about the parameters of leave programs. New state laws that are popping up regularly that expand on employee leave rights. While we focus on the legal aspects of all leave laws, we do recognize the importance of having leave policies that work for the culture...
Podcast: ADA Title III Public Accommodations: New Accessibility Considerations for Businesses
Most business owners are aware that if their business is public-facing they need to provide access for the physically disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. By definition, Title III under the ADA provides that individuals cannot be discriminated against on the basis of disability, "in the full and...
Connecticut Pay Equity Bill Moves Forward
Earlier this week, bill HB5591 , which has been touted as legislation that will help to close the gender pay gap between Connecticut employees, cleared the House of Representatives with a vote of 139-9. The bill, unlike the Massachusetts law that goes into effect next year, does not include...
Always Connected
We use the term "always connected" to describe the fact that the technology at our fingertips can connect us quickly to others across the room, across the state, or across the world. But when employers say we expect you to always be connected, do you expect that to mean...
Seventh Circuit Holds Sexual Orientation Bias Exists Under Title VII
Earlier this week, the Seventh Circuit in an en banc (all members of the court participating as opposed to only three) decision held that Title VII's ban on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation. The 8-3 ruling represents the first federal court of appeals ruling to find...
Secret Agent Man with Narcolepsy Lacks Disability Claim
Jacob Abilt (not his real name) was a covert employee for the CIA until his employment was terminated in October 2011. After his termination Abilt argued that despite having informed the CIA he had been diagnosed with narcolepsy, he was terminated as a result. The facts are limited, as...
The New (Improved?) I-9 Form
On January 22, 2017, employers must use an updated version of the Form I-9, making the previous I-9 form (dated March 8, 2013) obsolete. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") issued the new version on November 14, 2016. The core requirements of the Form I-9 remain unchanged...
Till Death Do Compensatory Damages Part . . . Or Not: Eight Circuit Finds Compensatory Damages Claim Under the ADA Lives Past Claimant’s Death
On Thursday, January 19, 2017, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in Guenther v. Griffin Constr. Co. , 16-1760 (8 th Cir. Jan. 19, 2017), and held that a claim for compensatory damages brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) survives the death of the aggrieved party. The...
DOL Overtime Rule Update
As most readers are aware, the Department of Labor has appealed the November 22, 2016 Order of Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas which preliminarily enjoined the December 1, 2016 implementation of increases to the salary threshold under the FLSA...
Are Your Employee Technology Policies from the Dark Ages?
With technology advancing at the current rate, the dark ages referenced isn't ten or fifteen years ago, but instead, two or three. If your capacity for reviewing policies and practices at the beginning of the year is limited, working with your information technology department and crafting up-to-date and relevant...
EEOC's Five Core Principles for Preventing and Addressing Harassment
Last week the EEOC released proposed Enforcement Guidance on Unlawful Harassment with a Press Release noting that the proposed Guidance is available for input until February 9, 2017. Information on how to provide feedback on the Guidance is available here . Whether one chooses to provide feedback or not...
Maine Passes Recreational Marijuana Statute—What Does This Mean for Employers
While still up for debate (as of the time of the writing of this blog), most news outlets and agencies in Maine are reporting that Question 1 on yesterday's ballot has passed—therefore providing for recreational use of marijuana in Maine. What does this mean for employers? That is the...
Marijuana is Legal in Massachusetts . . . Now What
On Tuesday, Massachusetts residents legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. How does this effect your relationship with your employees and what steps should you be taking in the near future? First, the statute includes an employment provision which provides that: "This chapter shall not require an employer to permit or...
Western District of Pennsylvania Rules Sexual Orientation Discrimination Protected by Title VII
On Friday, November 4, 2016, the Western District of Pennsylvania issued an order denying the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss in EEOC v. Scott Medical Health Center (No. 2:16-cv-00225) finding that a claim of sexual orientation discrimination is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil...
EEOC’s 2017-2021 Initiatives Announced
The EEOC has posted its Strategic Enforcement Plan for Fiscal Years 2017-2021. Included in the substantive priorities: 1. Eliminating Barriers in Recruitment and Hiring. 2. Protecting Vulnerable Workers, Including Immigrant and Migrant Workers, and Underserved Communities from Discrimination. 3. Addressing Selected Emerging and Developing Issues. 4. Ensuring Equal Pay...
NLRB Confronts Confrontational Clothing Ban
Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board, in Medco Health Solutions of Las Vegas, Inc. , 364 N.R.R.B. No. 115 (Aug. 27, 2016), found that a dress code policy that banned "confrontational" clothing banned federal labor law. The case, stemmed from an incident in which the Company ordered...
Governor's Panel Finds No Bias at Maine Human Rights Commission
Earlier this week, the Governor's Panel to Review and Make Recommendations for Improvement of the Maine Human Rights Commission and Its Operations issued its report finding specifically that "there was no evidence that the MHRC or its staff ever intentionally meant to be unfair or biased toward any party."...
Connecticut Advance Opinion: Affirming Arbitrator’s Finding That Termination Unwarranted of Employee Caught Smoking and Possessing Marijuana
Yes, you read the title correctly, the employee was a state employee, who was smoking marijuana while working, in a work vehicle, while simultaneously possessing ¾ of an ounce of marijuana, but his termination has been found to be unwarranted. State of Connecticut v. Connecticut Employees Union Independent et...
Individual Liability for Violators of New Massachusetts Gender Identity Public Accommodation Statute
Effective October 1, Massachusetts business owners who operate "places of public accommodations" will be prohibited from discriminating against individuals on the basis of gender identity. Specifically, An owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement that lawfully segregates or separates...
Zika in the Workplace: Best Practices for Not Getting Bit with Liability
There are things we all need to know about Zika: 1) it is spread mostly by an infected Aedes species mosquito; 2) it can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus; 3) there is no vaccine or medicine for Zika; and 4) confirmed cases of the Zika...
That Bored Lifeguard May Not Be the Only Unproductive Worker Watching the Olympics
By now you may have seen all the coverage of the rather bored-looking lifeguards at the Olympic swimming events . As it turns out, they may not be the only workers who are sitting around watching the Olympics on the clock.In a recent Workforce Institute survey commissioned from Harris...
Is Your Company Complying with Updated Federal Posting Requirements?
On August 1, 2016, the DOL issued updated posting requirements for the Employee Polygraph Protection Act and the Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act. If you haven't updated your posters, you should do so immediately. You can print out copies here: - Employee Rights Under the Fair...
“The Writing is On the Wall”: Seventh Circuit Clears Up Any Misconceptions the Public May Have on the Court’s View on Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Late last week, the Seventh Circuit issued an opinion in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College , in which it held that Title VII provides no redress for discrimination of the basis of sexual orientation. The Seventh Circuit is the first federal court of appeals court to rule on...
FLSA Construction Basics: Build a Solid Foundation with Proper Classification
New England Company & Affiliate Pay $2.6 Million in Back Wages Over the past few years we have discussed the importance of proper classification of workers and the ever-increasing number of DOL audits and wage and hour lawsuits that are stemming from improper classification of the workforce. Yesterday, the...
Navigating the New Overtime Rules … In the News
Now that a couple of months have passed since the Department of Labor announced the new federal overtime regulations, many employers are looking for guidance. Our Labor & Employment Group has been working tirelessly to ensure its clients and the community-at-large have resources for determining whether they will be...
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