By: Chuck Post and Lizbeth West
The EEOC issued its “Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.” on April 25, 2012. (“EEOC Enforcement Guidance No. 915.002”.)
The Supreme Court shut down a proposed class action against Comcast last week, another step in the right direction for employers faced with class action lawsuits. (Comcast Corp. et al v. Behrend et al, No. 11-864 (March 27, 2013).)
Continue Reading Breaking News for Employers: The Comcast Class Action is Off the Air
By: Lizbeth V. West
In Teed v. Thomas & Betts Power Solutions LLC, the Seventh Circuit held that a company that acquired another business’s assets at a receiver’s auction was responsible for paying a $500,000 settlement reached in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit between the predecessor business and its employees. The acquiring company knew about the FLSA lawsuit prior to the asset acquisition and specifically disclaimed liability for the lawsuit as a condition of the asset-transfer agreement. The court essentially held that the disclaimer was irrelevant. The court ruled that an explicit contractual disclaimer of the FLSA liability was not a good enough reason standing alone to avoid the "default rule" that a predecessor’s FLSA liability should normally be imposed upon the successor, unless there are good reasons not to do so. The court concluded among other things that, if an acquiring employer could contractually disclaim liability in this fashion, the "statutory goals" of the FLSA would be frustrated, and "a violator of the Act could escape liability or at least make relief much more difficult to obtain." The court also rejected a variety of other arguments to the effect that finding successor liability would be inequitable or economically unwise.
Continue Reading Employment Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions
The newly revised Form I-9 is here! A revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, the form that must be completed by all employers to verify the employment eligibility of every new hire, must be used starting March 11, 2013. The new form includes the expansion of the Form I-9 from one to two pages (not including the “List of Acceptable Documents” and form instructions), additional data fields (such as the new hire’s email address and phone number), enhanced Form I-9 instructions, and a revised layout.
Continue Reading Spring Cleaning Your Hiring Packet?: Start With The Newly Revised I-9
A recent study by Symantec shows that employee theft of employer confidential information is widespread. A summary of the survey is available at www4.symantec.com/marketinginfo/data. The survey was conducted by a private research institute. Some of the more alarming results of the study include:
There is more employers can do to make employees understand what belongs to the company and what does not. It may be a tougher challenge to get employees to care.
