Beginning in late 2008, Verizon New England, Inc. (VNE) began requiring its field technicians to carry company-issued cell phones, containing a global positioning system (GPS) during work. Prior to adopting this policy, VNE issued its technicians pagers so that their supervisors could communicate with them. The technician would then have to locate a phone to return the call. Obviously, in emergency situations, this was a less than optimum arrangement. As a result, VNE, relying on the management rights provision in the collective bargaining agreement between it and the technicians unit, adopted the disputed policy.Continue Reading First Circuit Dismisses Verizon Union Employees’ Privacy Claims Based On Federal Labor Law Pre-Emption
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Verizon Consent Decree Provides Road Map For Surviving EEOC Scrutiny of No Fault Attendance and Leave of Absence Policies
By Brian Hall on
On July 6, 2011, the EEOC announced a settlement with Verizon of a nationwide class action lawsuit alleging that Verizon violated the ADA by refusing to make exceptions to its “no fault” attendance plans to accommodate employees with disabilities. According to the EEOC’s press release, Verizon violated the ADA by failing to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, such as making an exception to its attendance plans for individuals whose “chargeable absences” were caused by their disabilities. Instead, the EEOC said, the company disciplined or terminated employees who needed such accommodations. In addition to requiring the payment of $20 million in monetary relief to affected employees, the Consent Decree filed with the federal district court in Maryland requires the company to revise its attendance plans, policies and ADA policy to include reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, including excusing certain absences.Continue Reading Verizon Consent Decree Provides Road Map For Surviving EEOC Scrutiny of No Fault Attendance and Leave of Absence Policies