When aggrieved employees bring Unfair Labor Practice (“ULP”) charges before the the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”), the allegations in a given charge may often duplicate grievances that have already been arbitrated, or could be arbitrated, under a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”). In such circumstances, the Board will often decline to process a ULP charge and instead […]
Employers implementing a mass layoff often agonize over the decisions they have to make, not just because of the hardship for employees and the potential impact on the business, but because employees might claim their selection for layoff was discriminatory. A recent paper published by Michael Feldman, et al., on the website arXiv.org, Certifying and […]
Companies are naturally interested in predicting which of their employees are likely to resign, and which are candidates for advancement within the organization. A paper recently distributed by researchers on arXiv.org, titled Promotion and Resignation in Employee Networks, suggests that techniques borrowed from the emerging field of network science offer clues about whether promotion or resignation […]
In this time of economic uncertainty and escalating health care costs, many employers are reconsidering promises of retiree medical benefits that were made when costs were not as high. This issue, particularly as it arises in the context of collective bargaining, has been the subject of lively litigation across the country. States in the Sixth […]
Most employers expect their managers to complete regular performance evaluations for the staff they supervise, which can be used to track employee progress and provide at least a minimal employment history. An observer could reasonably ask, however, whether companies derive as much benefit from this process as they assume. A January 9, 2015 online article […]
A study reported in the January 16, 2015 issue of the journal Science explores why certain industries and academic fields struggle to recruit and maintain a diverse workforce. Although such questions are complex, it appears that disciplines that regard ability as an innate, unteachable talent tend to attract predominantly Caucasian and male candidates, while fields […]
The stereotypical corporate anti-discrimination policy prevents managers and staff from doing or saying anything that would hint at the existence of race, sex, age, religion, or any other protected categories in the workplace, and discourages discussion of such sensitive issues. Such restrictions are never codified explicitly in the text of these policies, but many people […]
I sometimes train company managers how to investigate claims of discrimination or harassment. The most thoughtful students, especially if they’ve had some prior experience conducting investigations, eventually present this concern: What if both sides seem to be telling the truth? How can I know which way I should decide? How can I make sure I […]
Implicit association, or implicit bias, is best explained through analogy. Suppose I handed you a deck of standard playing cards, and asked you to quickly sort the cards by suit, with hearts and diamonds in one pile and clubs and spades in another. Readers who easily distinguish red from black would find this easy, and […]
On Wednesday, January 14, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations that would have extended the minimum wage and overtime requirements imposed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to most home care employees across the country. Home Care Association et al v. Weil, 14-cv-967 (D.D.C. Jan. 14, […]
