KMK Law Management Rights Blog

The third and final episode in the podcast mini-series - Termination Done Right - covers additional steps for employers to consider taking to minimize the damage in the event there is litigation over a termination decision.

Many employers are using or considering using smartphone apps for their employees.  In such cases, employees download an app that can be used for a variety of purposes, including employee engagement, communication, work assignments, route and delivery information and more. 

Attorney Mark Chumley provides practical insights into the challenges facing businesses today. Employment at-will is the default rule in almost every state. Where did it come from, what does it mean and what does it do for employers today?

Attorney Mark Chumley provides practical insights into the challenges facing businesses today. You've probably heard about COVID-19 immunity laws being passed but how much protection do they really provide for employers?  Also, did you ever wonder where the phrase "You're fired" came from?

Attorney Mark Chumley provides practical insights into the challenges facing businesses today. If you are planning a reduction in force (RIF) in the current business and legal environment, there are several factors to be considered.

On Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit sitting en banc announced its decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, creating a circuit split and setting the stage for a potential Supreme Court battle over the scope of Title VII.

On December 24, 2015, the NLRB ruled that an employer’s policy prohibiting employees from recording images or verbal exchanges in the workplace was unlawful.    

New Rules for Federal Contractors:

On December 3, 2014, the Department of Labor announced a Final Rule changing OFCCP’s regulations so that they prohibit discrimination based on, and require treatment of applicants and employees without regard to, sexual orientation or gender identity.  These final rules were issued as a result of President Obama signing an executive order in July, 2014, extending workplace protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans in the federal contracting workforce. 

In a reversal of precedent, a divided National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) held yesterday that employees have a right to use their employers’ email systems for non-business purposes, including statutorily protected communications regarding the terms and conditions of their employment and regarding union organizing efforts. See Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB No. 126 (December 11, 2014).  The NLRB’s ruling stemmed from a case brought by the Communications Workers of America union after it unsuccessfully attempted to organize employees of Purple Communications, Inc., a company that provides interpreting services for the deaf and hearing-impaired.  The union argued that prohibiting the company’s workers from using the company’s email system for non-business purposes and on behalf of organizations not associated with the company interfered with the CWA’s organizing efforts. 

While the rest of us have been cheering on our favorite teams or sulking due to our busted March Madness brackets, Northwestern University has been fighting a different battle before the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”).  On March 26, 2014, a regional director for the NLRB ruled that football players at Northwestern qualify as “employees” and have the right to unionize, paving the way for athletes at private educational institutions throughout the country to unionize.