The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives employees – even at non-union places of work – the right to criticize or protest their employer’s labor policies or treatment of staff. When the law was drafted Congress wanted to allow employees to strike and protest, so the protections extend to public criticism. In recent years, “public” also… More
Month: April 2015
DC Employers — Check Your Posters and Your Payroll!
DC is conducting inspections of DC businesses to ensure compliance with the new Wage Theft Preventon Act. Inspections focus on posters, but may also include a review of payroll records. It does not appear that the investigators are assessessing penalities, but they are issuing penalty notices and creating follow-up lists. As a quick reminder, in… More
Website May Be Ordered To Accomodate Disabled Users
Website owners beware – a federal judge in Vermont recently ruled that a company selling its products exclusively through a website, with no physical store, may be a place of public accommodation under the ADA and if so it must accomodate visually impaired customers. In National Fed. of the Blind v. Scribd, Inc., No. 14-CV-162… More
Even a Win in Court can be a Public Relations Nightmare
Ellen Pao’s lawsuit against her former employer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capital fund, went to trial this past February in San Francisco Superior Court. In her complaint Pao alleged that her employer did not promote her because of her gender, retaliated against her for complaining, failed to prevent gender discrimination in the… More
We All Have to Deal with People – But If You Can’t, You Might Be Disabled
To find protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), an employee must have a disability or mental impairment that “substantially limits” one or more “major life activities.” In the recent case of Jacobs v. N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts et al., 4th Circ., No. 13-2212, March 12, 2015, the Fourth Circuit (Maryland, Virginia,… More