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| The Supreme Court ruled for the first
time that federal discrimination laws do not
protect church employees who perform religious
duties, a major church-state decision that
recognizes religious groups' constitutionally
protected right to select their own leaders. The
justices ruled unanimously that the First
Amendment's guarantee of the free exercise of
religion means that even neutral laws intent on
banning workplace discrimination may not be
applied to a religious institution choosing
"those who will guide it on its way." |
| (Source: The Washington Post (free
reg. req'd), 2012-01-11) |
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| Though passed in 1977, the government
only began to rigorously enforce the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act in about the mid-2000s. In
2010, the government had a record 23 settlements
with companies and netted $1.8 billion in fines,
but the number of actions brought in 2000
totaled just one. |
| (Source: The Crime
Report, 2012-01-09) |
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| The aging workforce may not have the
negative impact on loss costs that workers'
compensation insurers have feared. New research
from the industry's National Council on
Compensation Insurance also concludes that while
loss costs are higher for older workers due to
the severity of their claims, these costs tend
to be accounted for in higher premiums, which
are based on the higher wages earned by older
workers. |
| (Source: Insurance
Journal, 2012-01-05) |
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| Immigration laws have gone into
effect in several states, including Alabama,
California, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and
South Carolina. Most of the immigration laws
being implemented call for employers to make
sure their employees are authorized to work in
the United States. |
| (Source: Fox News, 2012-01-03) |
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| That company-issued cellphone, laptop
or tablet could be keeping tabs on you away from
the office. More employers nationally are
adopting technology to monitor their employees’
productivity, efficiency and even whereabouts,
with the scrutiny going beyond merely placing
GPS units in company vehicles. |
| (Source: The Tennessean, 2012-01-16) |
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| Nowadays, the documents you submit to
your potential employer (cover letter, résumé,
references) will not be the only he or she looks
at. In fact, more than half of employers are
probably going to also check out your accounts
on social networks. 56 percent of employers said
that they were likely to check out the social
media presence of potential employees (although
27 percent of those surveyed said they would be
uncomfortable with the same being done to
them). |
| (Source: ZDNet, 2012-01-16) |
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| Even though the labor market is
improving, thousands of unemployed Californians
are caught in a bind: Some employers only want
to hire them if they already have a job.
Proposed legislation would fine employers or
employment agencies that refuse to consider
out-of-work applicants for openings. |
| (Source: Los Angeles Times (free
reg. req'd), 2012-01-07) |
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| The SEC recently updated its schedule
for Dodd-Frank Act rulemaking for the year, and
it has pushed back the deadline to propose and
implement some of the rules on executive
compensation, including the disclosure of
pay-for-performance, pay ratios, the
compensation clawback provision, and hedging
activities by employees and directors. |
| (Source: Compliance
Week, 2012-01-05) |
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| Some companies are adding a new
executive to their C-suite lineup: Chief
Diversity Officer. Tasked with creating an
environment where women and minorities can
flourish, CDOs generally have a hybrid job
description that includes recruitment, human
resources, marketing, ethics and legal
compliance. |
| (Source: The Wall Street
Journal, 2012-01-05) |
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| More Americans say their employers
are cutting bonuses and perks or initiating
hiring freezes, and slightly more workers are
worried about layoffs in the next six months,
according to a quarterly survey of employee
sentiment. The national survey by Glassdoor.com,
a Website dedicated to workplace issues, found
that 17 percent of those polled are concerned
that they may be laid off in the first half of
the year, up one percentage point from the third
quarter but below levels in 2009 and
2010. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2012-01-05) |
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| For all the time, effort and money
spent on appetite suppressants, fad diets and
squeezing in brief workouts, research is
coalescing around the simple idea that standing,
rather than sitting, for most of your waking
hours is critical to better health, brain
function and productivity. Standing work
stations remain unorthodox in the American
workplace, but it is increasingly becoming an
option for workers. |
| (Source: The
Spokesman-Review, 2012-01-15) |
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In a decision dated Jan. 3, 2012, the National Labor
Relations Board (Board) issued its most recent decision
protecting rights of employees not represented by a
union. The decision in D.R. Horton, Inc., may have
far-reaching implications for employment arbitration
agreements that have become increasingly popular among
employers. The upshot of the decision is that any
arbitration agreements that employers insist employees
sign, in which employees waive the right to pursue class
actions or collective actions over employment claims in
any forum, violate the rights of employees guaranteed by
the National Labor Relations Act (Act).
Read full article online.
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David Campbell
The United States Department of Transportation
recently issued a final rule restricting the use of
hand-held mobile telephones by commercial motor vehicle
drivers. The rule prohibits commercial motor vehicle
drivers from holding or dialing a hand-held cellular
telephone while driving. In addition, the rule prohibits
reaching for a device in an “unacceptable and unsafe
manner.” Violations may result in fines in amounts up to
$2,750 for violating drivers and $11,000 for drivers’
employers.
Read full article online.
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Now is the time of year that many of us reflect on
the year just completed and compile our to do lists for
the year ahead. The worker's compensation practitioners
are no exception to this annual reflection practice. The
Larson Workers' Compensation Law group prepared a
summary of what it deemed its Top 10 Bizarre Workers'
Comp Cases for 2011. It is with mixed emotions that we
note Indiana made the list this year. Please see the
article linked below for a complete list of the most
newsworthy 2011 worker's compensation decisions.
Top 10 Bizarre Workers' Comp Cases for
2011
Should You Opt-Out of
the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Class Action
Suit?
Many Ohio employers are receiving a “Notice of a
Pending Class Action” from the Cuyahoga County Court of
Common Pleas. The case, San Allen, Inc., et al., v.
Stephen Buehrer, Admin. of the Ohio Bureau Workers’
Compensation, Case No. CV 07 644950, alleges that
the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation charged excessive
premiums to non-group rated employers for policy years
from July 1, 2001, to July 1, 2008. Employers who were
charged non-group rated premiums during any one or more
of the years in question are automatically part of the
class action.
Read full article online.
If you have any questions about your worker's
compensation claims, please contact an Ice Miller Workers’ Compensation
attorney.
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