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What I've Been Reading This Week


One of the articles that really caught my eye this week was a blog post about several pending pieces of employment law legislation in Florida.  The article did a great job highlighting some of these bills and is something that I thought readers would enjoy glancing over.

As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week.


Religious Objections to Hand Scanner Case Gets a Resolution

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a good article on a recent religious discrimination case that finally came to a resolution.  The suit was brought by Beverly Butcher, Jr., who worked at a Consol Engery mine.  When Consol implemented a hand scanner for employees to clock in and out of work, Butcher refused to use the scanner because he thought the scanner would imprint him with the "mark of the beast."  Rather than work with Butcher on an accommodation, Consol mandated he use the scanner and Butcher subsequently quit.  This article has a good insight into the jury's verdict in his favor for $150,000.00 on his religious discrimination claim...certainly an interesting story.



I came across several good articles on this topic, but the Washington Post had one of the better, clear cut discussions.  Recently, House Democrats proposed a bill that would provide federal employees with 6 weeks of paid leave in regard to the birth or adoption of a child.  Note that at this point, federal employees are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave, but can substitute paid sick and annual leave for part (or all) of that unpaid time.  This will be an interesting one to follow, given President Obama's recent push for paid sick leave in both the public and private sectors.


New Employment Law Bills Pending in the Florida Legislature (2015)

Donna Ballman has a good article that highlights several employment law related bills currently pending in the Florida legislature.  Ballman highlights everything from Ban the Box measures and minimum wage bills, all the way to an anti-bullying piece of legislation.  The part that I think readers will enjoy is Ballman's analysis of these different bills as well as links to several relevant articles on each one.

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