Legislative UpdatePending Federal legislation of note
Supreme Court upholds arbitration agreementsIn a 5-4 ruling, the United States Supreme Court recently held that an employee who alleged his termination was based on race may be required to arbitrate his claim (as opposed to filing with the EEOC or state equal rights division). The Court held that, based on the language of the arbitration clause, the arbitrator is empowered to decide whether the discrimination claim should be arbitrated or proceed to court. The case is Rent-A-Center v. Jackson (http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/09-497.pdf). Presently pending before Congress is the Arbitration Fairness Act (H.R. 1020/S. 931). If enacted, this law would sharply restrict the use of such arbitration clauses and, potentially, cancel out the Supreme Court’s decision in Rent-A-Center. In the interim, the Rent-A-Center decision serves as an invitation to employers to think about the potential efficiencies and other advantages of steering as many employment (and consumer) matters to arbitration as possible. Wisconsin’s Indoor Smoking BanOn July 5, 2010, Wisconsin’s Indoor Smoking Ban took effect. If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to post notice of the new law and amend your personnel policies to document that you have made “reasonable” efforts to comply with the new law. In the NewsFacebook strikes againThe City of West Allis has moved to terminate a dispatcher related to a post she put on her Facebook page. The employee, a 21-year veteran, posted (while off duty, and presumably in jest) that she is addicted to “Vicodin, Aderall, quality marijuana, MD 20/20 grape, and absinthe.” The City contends that the employee’s Facebook post undermines the mission of her department, and that her disciplinary history placed her at the termination stage anyway. An arbitrator ruled that the Facebook offense is not worthy of termination. The City has since appealed that determination to the Circuit Court. Stay tuned. See: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/95125549.html Survey question: Do you police employee posts that mention the company on Facebook, blogs, or elsewhere on the Internet? If so, how do these posts come to your attention? Click here to respond. Aggregated results will be shared in the next issue. No names or identifying details will be included. Employees at Cargill’s Milwaukee plant vote against joining unionThe International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 494 recently petitioned to unionize electrical and mechanical maintenance employees at Cargill Meat Solutions Corp.’s Milwaukee Plant. Workers voted 32-18 against joining the union. Employer takeaway: The vote is significant because it highlights the difficulty unions have had in their organizing activities as of late, and a larger loss of momentum (including that the Employee Free Choice Act has stalled in Congress for approximately a year now). Claims of a different color
EEOC steps up enforcementThe new leadership of the EEOC is now in place, and the EEOC’s funding and staff has increased. Whereas it might be said that, during the Bush years, the agency focused on outreach and educational programs (the theory being that a proactive approach would ultimately reduce the number of claims), the focus appears to be shifting to enforcement. As an aside, both the number of cases and case processing times have increased substantially over the past 5-10 years. Not only has the EEOC budget increased by over $30 million, it is expected to add approximately 100 investigators before the end of the year. In coming months, EEOC enforcement guidelines are expected for the Americans With Disabilities Act Amendment Act (ADAAA), the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. See: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/othercities/nashville/stories/2010/06/28/focus4.html?b=1277697600^3565301&s=industry&i=human_resources The Strangest Things We’ve Heard of LateA former New York business banker argues that male co-workers found her figure “too distracting,” leading to her being disciplined and ultimately terminated. A friend of the complainant says she is a bit of a “man magnet.” “I’ve seen men turn into complete idiots around her. But it’s not her fault that they act this way, and it shouldn’t be her problem.” The complainant contends that she was told that other females “may wear what they like, as their general unattractiveness rendered moot their sartorial choices.” See: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/curvy_banker_says_she_was_fired_for_being_too_distracting_in_business_suit_ We'd love to hear your feedback. Send comments to Mark Goldstein. |