The Weekly Guide to Employment Law Developments

The Rocky Mountain Employer

Labor & Employment Law Updates

Posts tagged Employment Law
U.S. House Passes Equality Act Expanding Federal Protections to LGBTQ Employees

The Unites States House of Representatives recently passed the Equality Act, which expands employment protections to LGBTQ employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

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NLRB Guidance Finds Cannabis Growers Are Not Covered Under Labor Laws Due to Agricultural Worker Exemption

This week, counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued guidance on whether employees of Agri-Kind, a marijuana enterprise in Pennsylvania, who work in its indoor grow rooms are entitled to protections under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).

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NLRB Upholds Employer’s Restrictive Social Media Policy

On January 4, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) issued a 2-1 decision holding that an employer’s social media policy, which prohibited employees from engaging in certain communications, did not violate employees’ concerted activity rights afforded under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).

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NLRB: Employers Can Discipline Employees for Offensive Behavior During Protected, Concerted Activity

On July 21, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision clarifying that employers can discipline employees for engaging in deeply offensive and abusive conduct, including racially inappropriate language or language of a sexual nature, that occurs while engaging in protected, concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

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CDC’s Updated Guidance for Businesses and Employers Seeking to Resume Normal or Phased Business Operations

The U.S. Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) updated its guidance for businesses and employers to plan, prepare and respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”), which supplements its earlier guidance published in March 2020.

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COVID-19 and Reasonable Accommodations – EEOC Provides Updated Guidance

As employers across the country begin the process of reopening their businesses, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its guidance for employers relating to providing reasonable accommodations as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Guidance on Safely Returning Employees to Work

As states around the country, including Colorado, relax their sheltering in place orders, non-critical businesses are beginning to reopen. To ensure that COVID-19 does not further spread, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and the Colorado Department of Health & Environment have issued new guidance and regulations so that they can safely operate

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Employers Must Begin Using New Form I-9 by May 1, 2020

On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9), used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must properly…

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Employers Across the Country May Soon Have to Provide Reasonable Accommodations to Pregnant Employees

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee approved a bill that would require employers to provide accommodations for pregnant workers. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “Act”), would require employers to. . .

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Terminating an Employee for Marijuana Use May Become Prohibited under HB 20-1089 Print Friendly and PDF
Colorado Family and Medical Leave Task Force to File Final Report Next Week

Next week, the Family and Medical Leave Implementation (“FAMLI”) Task Force will issue its final report, consistent with the May 30, 2019 Senate Bill 19-188, which required the implementation of a paid family and medical leave program in Colorado based upon the bill’s 16 factors (the Task Force actually considered and voted on 26 factors).

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Employers May Bar Non-Business Use Company Email and Prohibit Discussions About Workplace Investigations

In two major decisions issued this week, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) approved (1) broad restrictions on non-business use of work email systems and (2) company rules prohibiting discussions about ongoing workplace investigations.

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Colorado’s Minimum Wage to Increase in 2020, and Employers Should Brace for Patchwork of Differing City-Based Minimum Wages in the Future

Colorado employers should prepare for an increase in the state minimum wage from $11.10 to $12.00 per hour, and from $8.08 to $8.98 per hour for tipped employees, effective January 1, 2020. The 2020 increase is the final currently-planned wage increase under Amendment 70 of the Colorado Constitution. After 2020, the state minimum wage will be adjusted annually for cost of living increases.

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Employer Lawfully Refused to Hire Applicant for Fear of Future Medical Impairments, Appellate Court Holds

An employer did not violate the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by refusing to hire an obese applicant based on the belief his weight created a high risk he would develop medical conditions in the future, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

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“No-Rehire” Clauses Are a No-go in California

California has banned employers from including “no-rehire” provisions in employment dispute-related settlement agreements with its employees. No-rehire provisions prohibit the employee from applying for a job with that company in the future as a condition of the settlement. 

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California and New York Ban Employment Discrimination Based on Natural Hairstyles

This summer, California and New York became the first states to ban discrimination in employment based on natural hairstyles. The California and New York legislation, both titled the CROWN Act (“Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair”), amend California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the New York Human Rights Law (NYHRL) by…

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Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors Does Not by Itself Violate Federal Labor Law

Although misclassifying employees as independent contractors exposes companies to damages, steep penalties, and other liability, misclassification alone is not an Unfair Labor Practice under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has held.

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Unpleasant, Off-Hand Comments Did Not Force African-American Employee to Quit, Court Holds

An African-American woman who described her employment as “satisfying” and a “great experience” in her resignation letter could not prove a hostile work environment/constructive charge claim (that is, that workplace harassment was so severe, based on her race, that she was forced to quit), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

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New Marijuana Legislation Impacts Employer’s Rights

Starting January 1, 2020, employers in Nevada may not reject a job applicant who tests positive for cannabis on a pre-employment drug screening. Under the recently passed Nevada law, if an employer requires an employee to submit to a drug screening within the first thirty (30) days of employment, the employee has the right to take a second test, at his or her own expense, to contest the results of the initial screening.

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Extreme Obesity Not Caused by an Underlying Medical Condition Is Not a Disability Under Federal Anti-Discrimination Law

Extreme obesity cannot support a disability discrimination claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) without evidence that the condition was caused by a physiological disorder or condition, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

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