All employers adopt and enforce policies regulating conduct at the workplace. Many employers expect that employees will follow their employment polices at all times regardless of whether the employee is working or at work. Today, in the age of social media and smartphones, employers and employees have much greater visibility when they leave work – […]
Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee recently signed the 2014 Student and Employee Social Media Privacy Acts into law. In a press release, lawmakers said that the new law was modeled on similar laws in California that are “considered one of the nation’s strongest social-media privacy laws in the nation.” Under this new law, employers cannot 1) […]
On July 19, 2014, Illinois joined a growing number of states prohibiting employers from asking about applicants’ criminal histories early in the hiring process. The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, also known as “ban the box,” goes into effect in Illinois on January 1, 2015. This law prevents companies with more than 15 employees […]
Today, a divided U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that closely-held for-profit corporations providing group healthcare to their employees could, on religious grounds, be exempted from providing contraception coverage to employees required under the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act. Background Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is an arts and crafts chain with over […]
Severance Agreements: The New Lightning Rod Date: July 1, 2014 By Janet Hendrick Remember 2010? Not that long ago, yet as of that year, employers could rest pretty comfortably at night knowing that their garden-variety workplace rules would instill peace and control at the plant, store, or office, not subject them to monetary penalties, governmental […]
California Supreme Court: “Illegal Immigrant Shouldn’t Have Been Hired – But Can’t Be Fired Illegally” On June 26, 2014, the California Supreme Court decided that an employee may proceed with a discrimination lawsuit even though he presented false work authorization documents to obtain employment in the first place. The case involved an employer’s reliance on […]
On May 22, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the Personal Online Account Privacy Protection Act into law. The Act, effective immediately, prohibits employers from requesting or requiring access to the personal online accounts of applicants or employees. Louisiana joins 11 other states that have already passed similar legislation. The Act also applies to educational institutions, […]