Articles Discussing General Human Resources Issues.

Executive Summary: Employers in 15 states (and the Virgin Islands) may not be eligible to claim the maximum amount of credit for state unemployment contributions on their 2014 federal unemployment tax (FUTA) return (Form 940) because their state has had an outstanding federal unemployment insurance (UI) loan for at least two years.

Legislation would Effectively Prevent NLRB’s Representation Election Rule From Moving Forward.

In the 24/7 healthcare world, it is not uncommon for nurses and other health care professionals to work long hours and overnight shifts. In a recent case in Ohio, a family of a deceased 38 year old nurse is suing The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati where she used to work as a nurse in the bone marrow unit. A year ago, the nurse lost control of her vehicle driving home after completing a 12 hour shift at the hospital and passed away.

Brace yourselves, employers: March Madness is upon us.

At 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 9, 2014, people all across the United States set their clocks forward one hour to start Daylight Saving Time (DST). The change is intended to place more sunlight into “daytime” hours in order to seemingly stretch the day longer and conserve energy. In fact, 2014 marks the eighth year DST was expanded by four weeks pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Executive Summary: March Madness, Super Bowl, and Fantasy Football pools have become ingrained in the American workplace and seem harmless to many; however, permitting such activities creates a wide range of risks for employers, from productivity loss to discrimination and disability issues and even criminal penalties. Newly allowed online gambling can also create headaches for employers and IT departments. Before turning a blind eye or participating in the pool, here are a few risks with which employers should become familiar.

A recent trend is developing of late where employers are considering “no smoker” employment policies. These policies go beyond “no smoking in the workplace;” some ban employees from smoking at any time. Such policies may lower insurance premiums. Some employers also suggest that these policies cut down on productivity issues due to smoke breaks and high absenteeism due to smoking-related illnesses. Opponents of these policies argue that they are discriminatory or in violation of privacy laws. This raises an interesting debate.

Last Friday, attorney Ted Wells of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP issued a 144-page report (commonly referred to as the Wells report) to the National Football League concerning the alleged harassment of Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jonathan Martin. On October 28, 2013, Martin abruptly walked off the team after a lunch room joke, which he says was the final straw after enduring nearly a year of harassment from his teammates. Martin checked himself into a hospital for mental health help.

Last Friday, attorney Ted Wells of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP issued a 144-page report (commonly referred to as the Wells report) to the National Football League concerning the alleged harassment of Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jonathan Martin. On October 28, 2013, Martin abruptly walked off the team after a lunch room joke, which he says was the final straw after enduring nearly a year of harassment from his teammates. Martin checked himself into a hospital for mental health help.

Executive Summary: Much of the country has suffered through a series of punishing winter storms this year. With the number of snow days mounting, employers must determine whether closing the office means having to pay workers who stay home, being on the hook for unemployment compensation, and whether workers’ compensation applies to weather related injuries.

Winter storms create challenges for employees and employers alike, with snow, sleet and freezing rain adding unwelcomed stress into the basic activities of daily life. In turn, how an employer responds to emergency weather can either add to or detract from these additional strains on an employee’s life. To elimination uncertainty and confusion inside the workplace, employers are advised to create a comprehensive emergency weather plan.

The House of Representatives overwhelming approved a bill (H.R. 3578) that would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use the formal rulemaking process to adopt any new or revised requirement providing for the screening, testing, or treatment of pilots for a sleep disorder. By the same token, the FAA could institute such a policy for air traffic controllers only if it meets its obligations pursuant to chapter 71 of title 5 of the U.S. Code.

This Preliminary Report is being released as part of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute™ (WPI) February 12, 2014 Roundtable on The Future of the Workforce, How the Robotics Revolution Will Shape the Employment and Labor Law Landscape.

Your colleague begins to choke on his sandwich at lunch. The courier trips on loose carpet in your office lobby. Your co-worker goes into anaphylactic shock. What to do? Good Samaritan laws are designed to indemnify individuals who provide reasonable assistance to others in a time of emergency. The laws are intended to encourage assistance without fear of legal repercussion for unintentional injury or wrongful death. These laws have an interesting role in the office setting.

On January 27, 2014, in Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. v. Hoeper, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a former pilot’s $1.4 million defamation judgment against Air Wisconsin Airlines. The high court held that airlines are protected from defamation claims if they make a materially true statement to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA). The Court further clarified an ambiguity in the “actual malice” standard in New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). As a result, employers now have clearer guidance on what statements would be entitled to qualified immunity in response to employees’ defamation claims.