New guidance is available to employers who request that departing employees sign severance agreements in an attempt to limit future age discrimination lawsuits. A recent Supreme Court decision and newly published EEOC...
Jul 01, 1998
Employment Discrimination
Supreme Court Clarifies Standards for Employer Liability for Sexual Harassment by Supervisors
On Friday, June 26, 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions which provide important guidance to employers in the area of sexual harassment. These two decisions, Faragher v. City of Boca Raton and Burlington...
May 01, 1998
Labor Relations
Sexual Harassment Within the Context of the National Labor Relations Act
We examine here two aspects of labor law. The first is whether and in what circumstances certain forms of sexual harassment can constitute an interference with the exercise of an employee’s rights under Section 7 of the...
Apr 01, 1998
Employment Discrimination
Employees Have Protection for “Same-Sex” Harassment under Federal Law
The United States Supreme Court, in a case named Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., recently ruled that the federal law prohibiting sexual harassment applies to situations where a harasser and a harassed employee...
Sep 22, 1997
Labor Relations
Union Security Clause Facially Invalid
Many collective bargaining agreements contain a union security clause, providing that each employee covered by the agreement must become a member of the union within thirty-one days of the employee’s date of hire. By...
On September 18, 1997, New York Governor Pataki signed into law amendments to the State Labor Law which significantly enhance the statutory penalties for underpayment or non-payment of wages. The new law, entitled the Unpaid...
Jan 01, 1996
General Employment Issues
California Supreme Court Recognizes New Cause of Action for Wrongful Demotion
California employers are all too familiar with claims of wrongful discharge by terminated employees who allege that they were party to an implied contract with the employer, under which they could not be discharged without...
In the September 1994 issue of this Newsletter, we reported that the federal courts are in disagreement over whether supervisors may be held personally liable for violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other...
Jan 01, 1996
Employment Discrimination
“Reasonable Accommodation” Under ADA Clarified by Second Circuit
A critical feature of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., is its requirement that employers not only refrain from discrimination against disabled employees but, in addition,...
Jan 01, 1996
Labor Relations
NLRB Invalidates Employee Participation Programs: GOP Responds with Teamwork for Employees and Managers Act
Since the 1980s, over 80 percent of large U.S. companies have implemented some form of employee participation program designed to improve workplace policies and develop and effect operational changes advantageous to both...