Utilities

Utilities must comply with industry-specific regulations, such as those promulgated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in addition to the labor and employment laws governing employers in other industries. These additional regulations affect the manner in which utilities handle a variety of employment matters, ranging from personnel policies and fitness-for-duty programs to the provisions that may be included in settlement agreements. Utilities are also faced with wage and hour issues that are unique to the industry, including industry-specific job classifications, performance of "non-exempt work" by supervisors, and special circumstances arising from emergency outages. Similarly, parent-subsidiary and sub-contractor relationships that are typical of utilities frequently raise distinctive "joint employment" and "integrated employer" issues. Finally, utilities have not escaped the recent focus on corporate accountability, and have experienced increased exposure for retaliation claims under Sarbanes-Oxley and other laws protecting whistleblowers.