The Just Workplace is produced by the attorneys at Peer, Gan & Gisler, LLP, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm with a nationwide litigation practice and a special focus on the effective resolution of labor and employment disputes.
SCOTUS Clears Way for Religious Employers to Discriminate
In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the ministerial exception permits religiously affiliated schools to fire employees for discriminatory reasons. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, the Court’s majority held that two Catholic school...
Judge Enjoins IRS From Enforcing Parsonage Exemption – But Hold On…
The Western District of Wisconsin has become the focal point of the debate as to whether the parsonage exemption granted to clergy members is constitutional. In October 2017, Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the exemption violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S....
Federal Court Rules Parsonage Unconstitutional, Yet Again
Parsonage Exemption Imperiled Again On Friday, October 6, Judge Barbara Crabb of the United States District Court for the District of Washington, issued a ruling holding that the parsonage exemption to the tax code violates the U.S. Constitution. The tax exemption...
Server Curses Off Supervisor on Facebook, Keeps His Job
A few months ago, the Second Circuit considered the case of a catering company server who was fired for posting this comment about his supervisor on Facebook (profanity edited): Bob is such a NASTY MOTHER F[@%#*!] don’t know how to talk to people!!!!!! F[@%#*!] his...
The Latest Victims of Non-Competes: Journalists
CNN reports that the conservative media outlet Independent Journal Review ("IRJ") is asking employees to sign non-compete agreements. The restrictive covenants bar journalists and other employees from working in any capacity for any other media outlet worldwide for...
Non-Compete Agreements: A Cautionary Tale for ALL Employees
A recent Non-Compete Article in the New York Times highlights a growing danger for American workers: restrictive covenants like non-compete and non-solicitation provisions. These “non-competes” as they are known in labor/employment law parlance have trickled down to...
NLRB General Counsel is an Ally to College Football Players Unionizing
NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin formally concluded earlier this week that scholarship football players at private universities and colleges are employees under the National Labor Relations Act, with the rights and protections of that Act. In a General Counsel...
Update: DC Council Passes Paid Family Leave
We recently reported that Washington, DC had made significant progress towards passing one of the most generous paid family leave laws in the country. Two days ago, DC took an enormous leap forward when the City Council passed the Universal Paid Leave Act by a 9-4...
Leading by Example: The District of Columbia and the Fight for Paid Family Leave
The District of Columbia is one step closer to passing one of the most generous paid family leave laws in the country, the most-recent version of which includes up to eleven weeks for the birth or adoption of a child. The full draft of the Universal Paid Leave Act is...
Are You Asking The Right Questions About Your New Physician Employment Agreement?
Lucky you! You’ve just finished your residency and are considering various “real” job offers with hospitals and practice groups. Finally, a chance to be a full-fledged physician with a good salary and benefits and a chance to start to pay off your student loans. Among...
Parsonage Update: Gaylor v. Lew
In 2011, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (“FFRF”) challenged the constitutionality of the parsonage tax exemption contained in Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 107 allows clergy to exclude certain housing expenses from their gross income. FFRF’s...
New York City Bike Couriers are Organizing
We are rooting for the bike couriers of New York City, who have recently formed the New York Messengers Alliance in an effort to harness their collective strength as they seek to improve their pay and benefits. There are some interesting parallels between these...
Musicians and the Ministerial Exception
Music is a vital part of worship for many religions. But at what point should a musician be considered a religious minister? The answer to this question has legal ramifications for musicians who work at congregations, schools, and/or other religious institutions....
Clearing Away the (Incense) Smoke Screen of a First Amendment Religion Issue
NLRB Exerts Jurisdiction over Secular Teachers in Church-Operated Schools In two recent cases involving faculty bargaining units at Catholic universities, the NLRB evolved the test for determining whether certain faculty of church-operated schools come within the...
A Strange Intersection Between Professional Bicycle Racing and Labor Law
This fantastic piece by American professional cyclist Larry Warbasse raises some interesting issues that make it good fodder for our firm’s labor/employment law blog. To briefly recap the bike race situation: the La Vuelta a España’s is a revered 21-stage “grand tour”...
Busting Police Unions Won’t Fix the Problem
On Labor Day Eve 2016, the New York Times published an editorial criticizing the role of police unions during the current era of police brutality. While NYT is right to call out recent egregious police behavior and there is something to be said for taking union...
Make-Whole Remedy Redux: NLRB Decides King Soopers
“From the earliest days of the [National Labor Relations] Act, a make-whole remedy for employees injured by unlawful conduct has been a fundamental element of the Board’s remedial approach.”
Goya Foods of Florida, 356 NLRB 1461, 1462 (2011)
NLRB Says Graduate Student Assistants are Employees: Columbia University Reverses Brown University
On August 23, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that graduate students who work as teaching or research assistants at private universities are employees with the right to unionize and collectively bargain. Its decision in Columbia University changes the...
New Connecticut And Rhode Island Laws Limit Use Of Physician Non-Compete Clauses
Two states in the northeast, Connecticut and Rhode Island, have recently joined other states in passing legislation limiting the use of non-competition provisions in physician employment agreements. The National Law Review provides a good summary of both new laws....
Putting Your Benefits where Your Mouth Is: Chicago Catholic Archdiocese’s Paid Parental Leave Plan Serves as a Model for Religious Institutions
Yesterday, NPR’s Cheryl Corley reported that Chicago’s Catholic Archdiocese will offer 12 weeks of paid parental leave to its employees beginning on July 1. The Chicago Archdiocese employs approximately 15,000 employees and is the third largest archdiocese in the...
Your State May Not Like Your Non-Compete Clause
The Wall Street Journal today reported on two cases of employers in two different states (New York and Illinois) who are being investigated for illegal/unfair conduct because they required their junior/entry-level employees to sign non-competition clauses in their...
New Policy for Using Social Media in the Security Clearance Process
Earlier this month, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper authorized Security Executive Agent Directive Five, which permits the federal government to consider information from social media sources in background checks for security clearances. This new policy...
Of Employment Agreement Dispute Resolution Provisions and Pragmatism
Good employment agreements have clear dispute resolution provisions. These provisions inform the parties about the process of adjudicating contractual disagreements. They should set specific and realistic expectations about what will happen if the dispute resolution...
More Advice on Restrictive Covenants for Medical Professionals
Given how frequently our clients have questions concerning restrictive covenants, we've devoted several past blog posts to issues related to non-competes and similar employment agreement provisions. Often, individuals entering into employment agreements containing...
Recapping August 2015 at the NLRB
The National Labor Relations Board spent some time in the limelight this August after issuing decisions in two high-profile cases with major implications for labor rights across the country. In Browning-Ferris Industries of California, the Board broadened the...
Sixth Circuit Finds that Religious Employers Cannot Waive the Ministerial Exception
Earlier this month, the Sixth Circuit addressed the “ministerial exception” to anti-discrimination employment laws in Conlon v. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, et al. This was the first time the Sixth Circuit considered the ministerial exception since the Supreme...
North American Pro Cyclists Organize Collective Association
Kudos to North American riders, who have recently created their own association (the Association of North American Professional Road Cyclists) and joined the membership of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés. (See also, article in Velonews). The CPA is the...
Parsonage Exemption Survives as Seventh Circuit Dismisses FFRF v. Lew
Earlier today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the Western District of Wisconsin’s decision in Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Lew and ordered the case to be dismissed. This case was before the Seventh Circuit after Federal...
The Minimum Wage Anomaly
It is difficult to reconcile the passage of multiple state ballot measures to increase the minimum wage with a rather poor showing for Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal tries to explain.
No More Jimmy John’s For Me
I’ve probably gobbled up 800 inches (67 feet) of Jimmy John’s turkey subs in the last five years (that’s 100 sandwiches). But no more. Sometimes a company’s employment practices will cause me to say, “no thank you.” After reading Neil Irwin’s piece in today’s New...
Seventh Circuit Hears Oral Arguments in Parsonage Case FFRF v. Lew
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments on Tuesday regarding the constitutionality of the parsonage exemption for clergy. The case Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Lew is before the Seventh Circuit after Judge Barbara Crabb...
Summer at the NLRB
The National Labor Relations Board has been busy this summer making bold decisions that could have far-reaching implications. The NLRB’s most publicized action this summer occurred on July 29 when the Office of the General Counsel announced that it would treat...
Morals Clauses: What They Mean for Employees of Religious Institutions
Employees of certain religious institutions, which can include religious schools, congregations, and faith-based nonprofit organizations, are sometimes confronted with a “morals clause” in their employment agreements. In the context of a religious employer-employee...
Supreme Court Finds State Home Health Care Workers Do Not Have to Pay Union Fees
In Harris v. Quinn, a small group of health care workers sued the governor of Illinois claiming that an agency fee arrangement violated their right to free speech and free association under the First and Fourteenth Amendment. The workers argued that as personal...
Vergara v. California – A Setback for California Teachers’ Unions
Teachers’ unions in California suffered a significant setback earlier this month when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu ruled in Vergara v. California that certain statutory job protections for teachers were unconstitutional. Although the final...
Big News Out of College Sports – Northwestern Football Players Have Right to Organize
As we previously reported, college football players at Northwestern University submitted a petition and signed union cards to the National Labor Relations Board in January seeking the right to collectively bargain over terms and conditions of employment. The NLRB's...
The Right to Unionize Meets College Football
Northwestern Football Players Seek to Unionize There’s some interesting labor law news today from an unlikely source – college football players at Northwestern University. Tom Farrey of ESPN’s Outside the Lines first reported that members of the Northwestern football...
Supreme Court Addresses Clothing vs. Safety Equipment Distinction under FLSA
Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Holds that Unionized Workers Need Not be Paid for Time Spent “Donning and Doffing” Safety Clothing under FLSA In a 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it harder for unionized steel workers to be paid for time spent changing into and...
NLRB Gives Up on Notice Posting Rule
National Labor Relations Board Decides Not to Seek Supreme Court Review of Cases Invalidating Notice Posting Requirement According to an NLRB press release issued on January 6, 2014, the NLRB will not petition the Supreme Court to challenge two U.S. Courts of Appeals...
Mulhall Update: Supreme Court Dismisses Neutrality Agreement Case
After hearing oral arguments in Unite HERE v. Mulhall several weeks ago, the Supreme Court has dismissed the writ of certiorari as "improvidently granted". A majority of the Supreme Court decided not to consider the issues presented in the case - most notably whether...
What is a Religious Institution for Employment Discrimination Purposes?
The Supreme Court Does Not Further Define "Religious Institution" in Hosanna-Tabor In it’s 2012 Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Church & School v. EEOC decision, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the validity of the “ministerial exception,” a common law principle...
Is a New Roadblock to Union Organizing and Collective Bargaining Looming?
Supreme Court Considers Neutrality Agreements in Unite Here v. Mulhall Unite Here Local 355 v. Mulhall, argued before the Supreme Court last Wednesday, presents the issue of whether neutrality agreements are, to some degree, prohibited by Section 302 of the National...
Thirteen States Protect Against Employer Access to Private Social Media Sites
State lawmakers have had an active year enacting laws that prohibit employers from accessing applicants' and employees' private social media sites. As we reported earlier, Nevada recently joined the growing list of states with such protections. This past summer, New...
Facebook “Like” is Protected Speech: An Employment Angle
Bland v. Roberts Reverses District Court's Take on the Facebook "Like" Button. The Fourth Circuit ruled yesterday that a public employee’s decision to “like” a candidate’s Facebook page amounted to free speech that is protected under the First Amendment. The Appellate...
Add Nevada to the List
The list of states that have enacted laws prohibiting employers from accessing applicants’ and employees’ private social media sites keeps growing, and Nevada is the latest addition. This past summer, Governor Brian Sandoval signed Assembly Bill 181 into law. Section...
And Oregon Makes Ten
Social Media Protections Extended to Employees and Job Applicants in Oregon. Add Oregon to the list of states enacting laws prohibiting employers from accessing their employees’ private social media sites. The new Oregon law becomes effective January 1, 2014 and...
Another Blow to Obama’s Recess Appointments to NLRB
Third Circuit Decision in NLRB v. New Vista Nursing Deems Recess Appointment Invalid Following the D.C. Circuit's recent Noel Canning decision, the Third Circuit issued a decision this morning invalidating President Obama's recess appointment of former Chairman Craig...
NLRB Rule Requiring Employers to Notify Employees of Their Rights Deemed Unconstitutional
National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB: D.C. Circuit Finds Posting Rule Violates 1st Amendment In a shocking decision out of the D.C. Circuit, three Republican-appointed judges held that the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 8(c) of the...
Pushing Back Against Restrictive Covenants in Physician Agreements
Covenants forbidding competition with a physician’s former employer and restricting the solicitation of patients have become commonplace in physician employment agreements. These days, such provisions appear in all sorts of employment contracts, including those of...
Work for a Religious Congregation? You May Be Ineligible for Unemployment Benefits
Employees laid off or terminated from a position with a religious congregation may be in for an additional unpleasant surprise – they may be legally precluded from collecting unemployment benefits. While the purpose of unemployment insurance is to provide a safety net...
Update on Laws Affecting Social Media in the Workplace
A recent article by the New York Times' Steven Greenhouse nicely lays out the current state of NLRB rulings and state laws dealing with employees' use of social media. Cyber-Screening Protections In addition to highlighting recent NLRB reports rulings that address...
Arizona Court Refuses to Invalidate Secret Ballot Union Election Law (For Now)
On September 5, 2012, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona granted the State's motion for summary judgment in NLRB v. State of Arizona. The ruling upheld, for the time being, a recently enacted amendment to Arizona's constitution that...
Honoring Labor
In honor of Labor Day, former NLRB Member and Chair Wilma Liebman reminds us of what labor unions mean to this country and why they're worth fighting for.
Illinois Joins Maryland in Protecting Employees’ Social Media Passwords
A few weeks back, we reported on a cutting-edge Maryland law that protects employees and job applicants from having to reveal their Facebook, Twitter, or other social media passwords to employers. On August 1, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a similar bill into...
Labor Relations Privilege Recognized in Alaska
Peterson v. Alaska Recognizes Grievant-Steward Privilege for Public Employees Two months ago, we reported on legislation in Maryland enacted to protect communications between employees and their union representatives. This "labor-relations" or "grievant-steward"...
Physician Employment Agreements: Attention to Specialized Terms Means Fewer Unpleasant Surprises
Recent economic reorganization of health care is making more physicians into employees of medical groups, managed care organizations and hospitals. For both newly graduated and established physicians, there are a wide variety of legal and other considerations when...
The Ministerial Exception: A Second Look at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Church & School
The Ministerial Exception makes it to the Supreme Court in Hosanna Tabor v. EEOC Earlier this year, the Supreme Court first considered the validity and applicability of the “ministerial exception” – a common law principle that exempts religious institutions from...
Study Shows Pay Gap Between Male and Female Rabbis
Over the last forty years, Reform Judaism’s seminary, the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, has ordained almost 600 women rabbis. There are currently a total of 2,000 Reform rabbis in North America. For many years, those close to matters of...
SCOTUS Limits Public Employee Unions’ Ability to Collect Dues for Political Activity
Knox v. SEIU Limits Unions' Ability to Collect Dues to Oppose Anti-Union Legislation In a 7-2 decision yesterday, the Supreme Court found in Knox v. SEIU that the First Amendment prohibited public sector unions from collecting special fees for political activities...
Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp.: Drug Company Sales Reps Exempt from FLSA Overtime Rules
In the 5-4 Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. decision announced yesterday, the Supreme Court found that pharmaceutical sales reps do not enjoy the overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The pharmaceutical sales reps in this case worked between 50...
SCOTUS Limits Federal Employees’ Recourse
Elgin v. Department of Treasury: Employees Covered by CSRA May Not Challenge Dismissal in District Court While not the decision in the healthcare case that we have all been awaiting, the Supreme Court issued a decision this morning that will affect federal sector...
Maryland on the Cutting Edge of Labor and Employment Law
The State of Maryland had a busy month of May on the forefront of labor and employment law. On May 2, Maryland became the second state to officially recognize a labor relations privilege when Governor Martin O’Malley signed Senate Bill 797 into law. On that same day,...
Social Media and the Workplace: NLRB Releases Third Report
Earlier today, the National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel, Lafe Solomon, released a third report on social media issues and the workplace. The NLRB released its first report on social media issues in August 2011 and a second report in January 2012. The...
Being Your Own Best “Free Agent”
If you are in the overwhelming category of employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, then you are in essence a free agent. With the evolution of the workplace, acceleration of new technologies, and the increase in job specialization, many...
Maryland Enacts Legislation to Protect Grievant-Steward Communications
When an employee approaches his or her union representative to discuss something related to a grievance or a potential grievance, there’s a natural expectation that he or she may speak freely without fear that the employer will be privy to the information...
Update to NLRB’s Notice Posting Rule
Due to some court challenges by business interests, the NLRB has been temporarily enjoined from implementing the rule requiring employers to post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. See our previous blog post to find...
I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Bulletin Board…
[This posting has been updated here] On Notice On November 14, the National Labor Relations Board will start requiring private sector employers to post notices intended to educate employees about their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. With this new...
The Illusion of the “Make Whole” Remedy
In arbitration, advocates for suspended or discharged employees routinely argue for a “make whole” remedy, which includes back pay and restoration of benefits and seniority rights. The idea is that a worker should be put into the position he would have been in had the...
A Return to 1934?
Section 1 of the National Labor Relations Act (from the original 1935 Wagner Act) is premised on facilitating the flow of commerce by reducing industrial “strife and unrest” through collective bargaining and peaceful dispute resolution mechanisms. In light of the...
World Day Against Child Labor
Apparently, June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor. It's hard to believe that we're still fighting child labor in the 21st Century.
Captive Audiences
Once again, our friend Dmitri has an interesting piece on labor law in today's union-unfriendly environment. Check out this piece in the Providence Journal on employer captive audience speeches and employees' First Amendment rights. (originally posted December 3,...
Chipping Away at Title VII
The Supreme Court has just taken another bite out of employees' rights to challenge workplace discrimination. The decision limits employees' ability to redress discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless they can point to a "discrete act"...