Earlier this year, speculation and educated guesses gave way to NLRB General Counsel Advice Memoranda on how the NLRB will address unfair labor practice charges challenging so-called Facebook firing cases. Now we have our first charge that actually has gone to hearing and resulted in an Administrative Law Judge decision.

In Hispanics United of Buffalo, Inc., the employer, a not-for-profit corporation that renders social services to economically deprived residents of Buffalo, New York, terminated five employees for their comments on Facebook after a co-worker had raised concerns about the job performance of other HUB employees. Apparently concerned that the co-worker would bring her concerns to management, one of the five employees posted the following on her Facebook page:

[Co-worker] feels that we don’t help our clients enough at HUB I about had it!
My fellow coworkers how do u feel?Continue Reading First “Facebook Firing” Case Decided by NLRB Administrative Law Judge

On May 18, 2009, Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, introduced the Healthy Families Act of 2009 (H.R. 2460) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, which is largely the same as bills issued in prior sessions of Congress, would require employers with more than 15 employees to provide workers with up to 56 hours of paid sick leave each year.
Continue Reading Healthy Families Act of 2009 Introduced in Congress

On Monday, December 15, 2008, the City of Columbus modified its ordinances related to discrimination (Chapter 2331 of the Columbus City Codes). The modifications add five new protected classes to the employment discrimination ordinance: age, disability, gender identity or expression, familial status, and military status. Continue Reading City of Columbus Adds Five New Protected Classes to Employment Discrimination Ordinance

Numerous news reports suggest that President-Elect Obama will name California Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D. Cal.), who was a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, as his administration’s Secretary of Labor. Both the SEIU and the AFL-CIO have issued press releases enthusiastically responding to this news. Those of you who are curious or wary about

On November 18, 2008, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA ) issued a news release stating its adoption as final the provisions of the Agency’s December 17, 2007, interim final rule concerning hours of service (HOS) for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
Continue Reading Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Adopts Final Rule on Hours of Service for Commercial Vehicle Drivers

 The Ohio Department of Commerce recently released new prevailing wage guidelines.  These guidelines, which became effective on October 15, 2008 and are available at http://com.ohio.gov/laws/,  focus on construction projects supported by both public and private funds.  Essentially, whenever a public entity contributes funding or other direct support (such as public land) to a project, even

On October 16, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security adopted the May 9, 2008 proposed regulation without change. Therefore, effective October 16, 2008, qualifying individuals now may obtain initial periods of TN status or extensions of status for up to three years.
Continue Reading CIS’s Proposed Regulation to Allow for Three-Year TN Status Adopted on October 16

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (“EESA” or the “bailout law”), which was enacted on October 3, 2008, contains significant amendments to the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (“MHPA”) that are pertinent to group health plans. For most plans, these changes will be effective January 1, 2010.
Continue Reading Mental Health Parity Provisions of the Bailout Law

On June 27, 2008, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Board of Directors unanimously approved the first phase of a long-term plan that will transition to a new split experience rating method for calculating premium rates that is designed to cushion the premium blow that state-funded employers frequently receive as the result of a