As the composition of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) changes from administration to administration, so do labor law standards, policies, and enforcement priorities of the board. With jurisdiction over virtually every private sector employer – small, mid-size, large, non-profit, etc. – the board’s movements have profound consequences for employers, employees, and organized labor. And even for public sector employers – which are not covered by the NLRA – the NLRB’s pronouncements are highly influential. In short, when it
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Creating Inclusive Workplaces for Neurodivergent and Employees with Disabilities
This article was originally published in Husch Blackwell’s Labor and Employment Law Insights blog and is published here with the author’s permission.
While diversity, equity, and inclusion have slowly made their way to the forefront of many employers’ minds, two dimensions of diversity are often overlooked in these discussions –neurodiversity and ability diversity. More than 1 billion people, 15% of the global population, live with a disability. Thus, employers must ensure that neurodiversity and employees and applicants with
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The Post-Dobbs Workplace: How Wisconsin’s Lack of Abortion Access Impacts Employment
Please note that any opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not represent any position of the State Bar of Wisconsin or any State Bar section.
Employers and employees all over Wisconsin are scrambling to determine the extent that lack of in-state access to legal abortions will impact the post-Dobbs1workplace.
At first blush, the difference between obtaining an out-of-state abortion and obtaining a formerly-legal, in-state abortion may not seem stark. In either instance, a
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Unemployment Update: The Pandemic and Beyond
Unemployment rates are down – way down. In April 2020, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 14.1%1 and the U.S. unemployment rate was 14.7%.2 In May 2022, Wisconsin’s rate was 2.8%, a record low, while the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6%.3
The Department of Workforce Development’s processing of unemployment claims today shows vast improvement as well. A year ago, it was not uncommon for the average amount of days between an appeal of an adjudicator’s determination to
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‘That’s So Meta:’ Workplace Harassment Issues in a Virtual World
Many individuals are familiar with online video games, such as FIFA, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Last of Us that permit players to play and communicate with others online while seated at their Xbox or PlayStation consoles.
Augmented Realty (AR) games, such as Pokémon-GO, superimpose a digital setting into the players’ own real environment, thereby incorporating virtual components into the real world and increasing the level of physical activity.
With the advent of virtual reality (VR) games, increasing numbers of players
Continue Reading ‘That’s So Meta:’ Workplace Harassment Issues in a Virtual World
‘Policy Oscillation’ in Full Swing at the National Labor Relations Board
Regardless of whether one identifies as pro-labor, pro-management, or somewhere in between, most would agree that the National Labor Relations Board is a political animal. Board doctrine often shifts to reflect the philosophy and goals of the political party in power at the time. Critics of the board accuse it of “flip-flopping.” Others more graciously refer to this phenomenon as “policy oscillation.” Policy oscillation is in full swing at the board. A Change of Leadership, A Change of Focus
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‘Political Beliefs’ and Employer Mask Mandates
Many requests for exemptions from COVID-19-related work rules involve religious liberty or medical disability, but what if an employee objects simply on political grounds?
Madison’s Equal Opportunities Ordinance,1 which protects 24 classes from discrimination, recognizes that employees should not be punished because of “political beliefs” that do not impact job performance. While employers should try to accommodate employees’ “political beliefs” where possible, they need not tolerate activity that interferes with business operations. Madison employees should also be aware
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Determining an Employee’s Vaccine Status
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) vaccine and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS) has been a whirlwind since the beginning of November, with stays being put in place and stays being dissolved by different courts.
It is unknown as to whether the OSHA vaccine and testing ETS will survive, but if the Supreme Court rules in its favor, employers will have to be ready to implement the OSHA ETS requirements.
One of those requirements is verification of employee
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Wisconsin Law Does Not Require Employers to Pay for COVID-19 Testing
On Nov. 9, 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), tasked with enforcing Wis. Stat. section 103.37, clarified that the statute does not require employers to pay the cost of COVID-19 testing where the testing is offered as an alternative to vaccination and where the federal government has issued a soft mandate that requires either testing or vaccination of employees.Section 103.37(2m) provides that:No employer may require any employee or applicant for employment to pay the cost of a
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College Athletes and the Right to Organize
On Sept. 29, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo (the GC) issued GC Memorandum 21-08 – Statutory Rights of Players at Academic Institutions (Student-Athletes) Under the National Labor Relations Act.
Pursuant to the GC’s prosecutorial discretion regarding the National Labor Relations Act (the Act), Abruzzo set forth her position that certain “Players at Academic Institutions” on scholarship – commonly known as “student-athletes” – are covered employees under the Act, with the right to
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Six Recommendations: OSHA’s Updated COVID-19 Guidance
COVID-19 has taken a great toll on employees and workplaces. Of primary concern for employers is the safety and health of employees. Up until June 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had not provided formal guidance on dealing with COVID-19 in the workplace.In June 2021, OSHA published
Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace, for
all employers outside of the health care industry. Since then,
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COVID-19 Related Disability Claims: Insights from Case Law
Since the onset of the pandemic, many employees have been forced to cease working due to COVID-19-related disabilities.
While most people who become infected with COVID-19 fully recover in just a few weeks, some experience symptoms that persist well beyond this timeframe. This chronic condition has come to be known as “long COVID,” and is most commonly associated with symptoms of fatigue, brain fog, difficulty breathing, and headaches.
While it’s unclear exactly how many people experience long COVID, a
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Must COVID-19 Vaccination Bonuses be Included in an Employee’s Regular Rate?
In order to encourage employees to be vaccinated, some of the largest employers in the country are offering cash bonuses for employees who get COVID-19 vaccines. One implication of these cash bonuses is that they may need to be included in the employee’s regular rate, thereby potentially increasing the employees’ liability for overtime pay.
Calculating Overtime Pay
Under 29 U.S.C. §207(a), overtime pay must be computed as time and a half the employee’s regular rate. The regular rate is
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Employment Challenges Faced by COVID-19 Long-haulers
As we progress into 2021 and further away from 2020, many are beginning to feel as though they can finally see the light at the end of the “COVID-19 tunnel.”
Vaccine distribution has increased. Offices and schools are reopening, people are returning to work, and many are experiencing something approaching normalcy in their lives again.
However, there are some individuals who continue to struggle with long-lasting health effects: the COVID-19 long-haulers.
COVID-19 seemed to affect everyone who became infected
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Red Light, Green Light: The Continuing Saga of the Tipped Employee Final Rule
As bars and restaurants start to reopen their businesses to outside guests and rehire staff, these employers need to pay particular attention to the current status of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) tipped employee regulations. These regulations impact provisions of the FLSA addressing the tip credit or tip pooling arrangements, who may keep employee tips, and civil monetary penalties for violations.
This article provides a brief refresher on the FLSA’s tipped employee provisions, the DOL’s December 2020 Tipped Employee
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Lawyers: We Need You Now for Wisconsin’s Unemployment Claims Crisis
Lawyers are needed now for the unemployment crisis.
As of Jan. 31, 2021, there were nearly 16,000 cases waiting for a hearing in Wisconsin. With new administrative law judges at work starting at the end of March, several hundred hearings are now occurring each week.
Still, given the size of the hearing backlog, many claimants have been waiting months – in some cases now a year – for unemployment benefits. More than a few who have received benefits are
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