MSBA presentation on First Amendment Rights of Students and School Staff
On October 3, 2015, at the Missouri School Boards’ Association Annual Conference, Robert A. Useted and Erin M. Leach gave a presentation concerning the complex interaction between the First Amendment speech rights of students, staff, and board members on one hand, and the obligation of school districts to protect their students and to keep their schools...
Robert Useted and Erin Leach presented on Searches and Seizures in the School Context
On October 3, 2015, at the Missouri School Boards’ Association Annual Conference, Robert A. Useted and Erin M. Leach presented on the application of the Fourth Amendment to searches and seizures in the school context. The presentation had a specific focus on the application of well-known rules to new technologies like cell phones, iPods, and tablets,...
National Labor Relations Board’s Expanded Joint-Employer Standard
On August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) broadened the joint-employer standard under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) in Browning-Ferris Industries of California d/b/a BFI Newby Island Recyclery, Case 32–RC–109684. This is a significant decision because it modifies long-standing precedent. Generally, two entities are joint employers if (1) they...
Department of Labor’s Expanded Definition of Employee under FLSA
On July 15, 2015, The United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released an Administrator’s Interpretation, which broadly defines an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) so that most workers would be classified as employees, not independent contractors. The Administrator’s Interpretation applies an “economic realities” test to the FLSA’s...
Impact of Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Decision on Employee Benefits
On June 27, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held that marriage between same-sex couples is a fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses. Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S.Ct. 2584, 575 U.S. ___ (2015). Although further litigation may occur, this ruling clears the way for same-sex marriage in...
Supreme Court Holds Employer’s Actual Knowledge Not Required for Religious Discrimination Claim
On June 1, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held that in order to prevail on a Title VII religious discrimination claim, an employee did not need to prove that the employer had knowledge of a request for a religious accommodation, but only needed to prove that the employer’s desire to avoid an...
Supreme Court Provides Accommodation Protection for Pregnant Employees
The United States Supreme Court held, in a March 25, 2015 decision, that employers must either accommodate pregnant employees to the same degree as they accommodate other employees “similar in their ability or inability to work,” or show a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for refusing to do so. Young v. United Parcel Service, 135...
EEOC Statistics Fiscal Year 2014
The EEOC reports that it received 88,778 charges last year. This is...
National Labor Relations Board: Employees May Use Employer’s Email System for Protected Communications
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) held in a 3-2 decision last month that employees who are given access for work purposes to their employer’s email system are presumptively permitted to use that system to engage in communications protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).
Supreme Court: Wait-Time for Security Screening not Compensable under the FLSA
The Supreme Court held in a 9-0 decision this week that employees who were required to pass through anti-theft security screenings at the end of each work day were not owed for the time spent waiting in line, emptying their pockets, and passing through metal detectors, because that time was not compensable...