Tag – Marijuana on Employment & Labor Insider | Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Last month, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Federal Bar Association about hot topics under the Americans with Disabilities Act with my blogging buddy Bill Goren, proprietor of the Understanding the ADA blog. If you haven’t visited Bill’s blog, you should — he covers all aspects of the ADA, including Titles II and III, as well as the employment provisions (Title I).

Here are four ADA (or ADA-related) areas that employers need to watch in the coming year: Continue Reading ›

Weekly catch-up

By Robin E. Shea on December 21, 2016Posted in ConstangyTV, Drug Testing, FOCUS, Labor Relations, Politics

Has legal pot made workplace drug policies go up in smoke?

By Robin E. Shea on December 20, 2016Posted in ConstangyTV, Drug Testing

Despite "legal pot" laws, employers still hanging tough

By Robin E. Shea on December 17, 2015Posted in Drug Testing

Mary Jane has come a long way, baby

October 12, 2015Posted in Drug Testing

"State of the Union" on substance abuse and the workplace

By Robin E. Shea on March 6, 2015Posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, Drug Testing, Family and Medical Leave Act, Safety, Transportation Industry

15 for '15: Employment and labor resolutions for the new year

By David Phippen of our Metro D.C. Office.

While the year is still young, here are 15 New Year's resolutions that employers may want to make:

1. Make sure your "independent contractors" are really independent contractors. "Independent contractors" are under scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, state and local agencies, plaintiffs' lawyers, and union organizers. A misclassification can cost you back taxes, back pay (including overtime), and back benefits, as well as penalties and interest.

2. Review your email policies. The NLRB recently found that employees generally have a right to use employer email systems during non-working time in support of union organizing and concerted activity. The Board's decision means that many employer email use policies, as currently drafted, would probably be found to violate the National Labor Relations Act if an unfair labor practice charge were filed or a union tried to organize employees and argued that the employer's email policy interfered with the organizing efforts. In light of the new "quickie election" rule that the NLRB issued last month, both union and non-union employers would be well advised to review their email policies and revise as needed. (The "quickie election" rule is scheduled to take effect on April 14, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other employer groups, including the Society for Human Resources Management, filed suit on Monday seeking to block the rule.)

It's not too late to register for our webinar on the NLRB's new rules on "quickie elections" and employee email use. The webinar, featuring labor attorneys Tim Davis, Jonathan Martin, and Dan Murphy, is from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern tomorrow (January 8). Be there, or be square!

Medical marijuana and the workplace -- another lawsuit filed

November 13, 2014Posted in Drug Testing

Tuesday's GOP "shellacking" may not change much for employers

By Robin E. Shea on November 7, 2014Posted in Affordable Care Act, Wage-Hour

Employers can hope, but that doesn't necessarily mean change.

Tuesday night's Republican rout in the midterm elections was big news, but is it much ado about nothing from an employer's standpoint? Here are a few reasons not to become too giddy (if you were happy about the outcome) or too depressed (if you weren't):

1. Although the GOP will have control of the Senate, it does not have the 60 senators needed to override a presidential veto. So, even though House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), presumably the next Senate majority leader, are saying they'll work to repeal or partially roll back the Affordable Care Act, expect to see an actual vote that is largely symbolic. The President is expected to veto any but the most incremental legislation, and the Republicans won't be able to do anything about it unless they can find six moderate Democrats to join them. Are there any moderate Democrats left after Tuesday? Continue Reading ›