Clocking in and out does not prove wage theft claims: Metal Technologies (MT), a Bloomfield, Indiana manufacturer of automobile parts, employs around 500 workers. Employees filed class and collective actions against MT, alleging violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Indiana wage laws. They argued that MT unlawfully paid employees only for the hours that they were scheduled to work even when employees’ timestamps showed that they were clocked in for longer than that. The 7th Circuit upheld dismissal of their class claim and stated that the employees failed to provide evidence that employees were actually working without compensation, not simply that they were clocked in for over 40 hours. Source: Weil v. Metal Technologies, Inc., No. 18-2556, 18-2440 (7th Circuit Court of Appeals, 5/29/19)
Who are Generation Z? They are some of the nation’s youngest people; born after 1996, the most senior of them will turn 22 this year. But like generations before them, their demographic characteristics, the influences on them—from technology to the economy—and their developing views on a range of issues are beginning to define them as a distinct group. A series of new reports from the Pew Research Center has found that this generation is the most racially and ethnically diverse, and is on track to be the best educated in U.S. history. They overwhelmingly live in metropolitan rather than rural areas. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, technology plays a central and natural role in their lives. A number of sociologists and other experts have recently been noticing a demographic evolution: changes in attitudes among young people, troubling increases in rates of depression, and other changes that led them to wonder if it was time to define a new generation. Although some researchers have used other years, the center decided to use 1996 as the last birth year for Millennials—to keep that generation “analytically meaningful,” says Michael Dimock, the center’s president, to begin “looking at what might be unique about the next one.” Source: Pew Trust 5/20/19
Employer reasonable requests are not FMLA interference: The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a case alleging that an emergency medical services provider flouted the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it fired a worker while she was on medical leave, saying she was axed after refusing to answer questions about whether she violated a noncompete agreement. The company has claimed she was fired because she didn't properly answer a letter asking her about purported violations of her noncompete agreement. That decision didn't relate to her exercising her rights under the FMLA after she was injured in a bicycle crash, so her claim under the law failed, the panel said. Source: Law360 5/24/19, Reagan v. Centre Lifelink Emergency Medical Services, Inc., No. 17-3056 (3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, May 2, 2019)
OFCCP updates Executive Order 13496 with technical correction: The Department of Labor announced that it has made technical changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) rights poster that federal contractors and subcontractors must display pursuant to Executive Order 13496, "Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Law." The Department updated the poster to reflect a new telephone number for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), as well as contact information for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. No other changes or updates were made. The poster informs federal contractor and subcontractor employees of their rights under the NLRA to organize and bargain collectively with their employers and to engage in other protected concerted activity. It also provides examples of illegal conduct by employers and unions. Federal contractors and subcontractors are required to post the prescribed employee notice conspicuously in plants and offices where employees covered by the NLRA perform contract-related activity, including all places where notices to employees are customarily posted, both physically and electronically. Source: CCH 5/31/19
For members who have operations in Illinois: This should be familiar. Illinois is legalizing recreational marijuana. Make sure all policies in place, especially if drug screens are conducted. However, Illinois has a very tough biometric law, so consult with legal council as whether any additional protections need to be put in place for state operations.
Breaking news – U.S. Supreme Court rules that bias claims can go straight to court: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday, June 3, that federal courts can hear discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act even if workers don’t bring them to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or state workplace bias watchdogs first. The high court said Title VII’s requirement that workers give the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a state enforcer a chance to resolve their claims before bringing them in court is not "jurisdictional," reviving a Fort Bend County, Texas, worker’s religious discrimination suit. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg penned the opinion. The ruling in Fort Bend County v. Davis means job bias plaintiffs’ failure to follow Title VII’s charge-filing rule doesn’t force courts to toss their suits. But employers can defend against claims by showing their accuser failed to exhaust the reporting requirement, though they waive this defense by not timely bringing it. Davis wrote in her charge to the EEOC in the margins that she was discriminated on the basis of religion. Fort Bend allowed the case to continue to court and was late in bringing the defense that the charge was not properly identified. Source: Law360 6/3/19