Termination & Resignation | Employment Law Blog in WA, OR, and CA | Vigilant

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Showing posts for: Termination & Resignation

Feb 27 2024
Termination & Resignation

Supreme Court clears path for SOX whistleblower to claim retaliation

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that employees alleging retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) only have to show that their whistleblowing activity was a “contributing factor” in their employer’s adverse employment decision. SOX is a federal law that protects employees at publicly traded companies who report (internally or externally) what they reasonably believe to…

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Feb 23 2024
Affirmative ActionHarassment & DiscriminationHiring

Manufacturer pays $443,000 to resolve hiring discrimination claims

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced that federal contractor GE Aerospace will pay $443,000 in back pay and interest to resolve allegations that it discriminated against female applicants for Manufacturing Ops Associate positions at its facility in Rutland, Vermont. The money will be shared among 116 unsuccessful female applicants. The company…

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Jan 29 2024
Labor RelationsTermination & ResignationWage and Hour

Q&A: Employees can discuss wages with each other

Question: Two of our employees accessed confidential payroll files and now are loudly complaining they are the lowest-paid employees in the company. Their manager is upset and wants to fire them for breach of trust, disrupting our business operations, and hurting morale. The whole department is demanding a raise. What can we do here? Answer:…

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Dec 22 2023
Termination & ResignationWage and Hour

Employer’s enforcement of “no photography” rule violated the NLRA

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled against an employer that attempted to enforce its rule against photography in the workplace. A labor contract between an oil refinery employer and union had a “Photograph, Camera & Video Policy,” which restricted use of photography and cameras. The policy stated the basis of the rule was…

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Dec 07 2023
DisabilityDrug and AlcoholLeave Laws

Q&A: Know how to handle disclosure of need for alcohol treatment

Question: An employee in a safety-sensitive job came forward to say she’s going into a 28-day treatment program for alcohol use disorder. When she comes back, can we test for alcohol (return-to-duty and unannounced follow-up tests)? Answer: Maybe… so please ask your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney or other legal counsel to review your specific facts before…

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Sep 07 2023
Labor RelationsQ&ATermination & Resignation

Q&A: Do employees have a right to talk with customers about pay

Question: One of our customer service employees recently contacted a customer to enlist support for higher pay for themselves and coworkers. Can we discipline or terminate them for this conduct? Answer: Probably not. You cannot terminate a nonmanagement employee for engaging in a protected “concerted” (group) activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations…

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Aug 10 2023
Featured Worker’s CompSafety and HealthTermination & Resignation

Q&A: Light duty may not stop time loss exposure

Question: We had to terminate an employee who was working in a light duty position following his on-the-job injury. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) awarded him time loss benefits, but we don’t understand why. Since he was working a light duty position when his job ended, shouldn’t that stop time loss exposure?…

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Jun 01 2023
Affirmative ActionHarassment & DiscriminationHiring

OFCCP secures settlements from federal contractors in early 2023

During the first five months of 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced some interesting financial settlements with federal contractors, although none of the companies admitted liability. Ordinarily, OFCCP settlements occur as the result of randomly scheduled affirmative action audits (compliance reviews) of federal contractors with at least 50 employees and a…

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May 18 2023
DisabilityEmployee BenefitsLeave Laws

WASHINGTON: Governor signs 2023 legislation

The 2023 legislative regular session ended on April 23, 2023, with Washington Governor Jay Inslee signing multiple employment-related bills into law. Please see our separate articles in today’s newsletter on two of those bills, “WASHINGTON: New bill limits most pre-employment cannabis tests” (regarding ESSB 5123) and “WASHINGTON: Employers must notify warehouse employees of quotas” (regarding…

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May 18 2023
Labor RelationsQ&ASafety and Health

Q&A: Insubordination may be protected under NLRA

Question: One of our employees yelled at our plant manager during a team meeting and called the manager “the devil incarnate,” said that the manager “must enjoy torturing the crew,” and that “working here was a living hell.” He was complaining because the manager was requiring mandatory overtime during the most recent heatwave. We follow…

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Mar 02 2023
Labor RelationsTermination & Resignation

Board invalidates confidentiality and nondisparagement clauses

The National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that confidentiality and nondisparagement provisions in an employer’s severance agreements with 11 employees were unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The decision overturned a Trump-era decision which we previously reported, involving Baylor University Medical Center. The current Board wrote that “a severance agreement is unlawful if…

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Dec 01 2022
Affirmative ActionHarassment & DiscriminationHiring

OFCCP kicks off 2023 fiscal year with settlements

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced the following financial settlements with federal contractors, as the result of routine affirmative action audits. These are the first settlements to be announced during the agency’s 2023 fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2022. In each case, the company signed a conciliation agreement with…

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