The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

As always, there are some EEOC cases that jump out at me when I review developments on that front.  Below are a couple EEOC cases and settlements that stand out. The Salvation Army to Pay $55,000.00 to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit A few weeks ago, it was announced that The Salvation Army would pay $55,000.00 to settle a disability discrimination suit after it refused to hire an applicant for a donation attendant position at a thrift store location in Alaska.  The applicant, Eric Yanusz, has an intellectual disability and would have been required to accept and sort donated clothing, furniture, and household goods.  After an apparent successful first interview, the EEOC alleged that The Salvation Army imposed a "highly unusual second interview" on Yanusz and ultimately chose not to hire him due to "unfounded concerns about his ability to interact with the public."  (Interesting enough, no details were given as to what all the second interview entailed...

Late last year, I made note of a paid leave bill working its way through the New Hampshire Legislature.  At the time, the proposal appeared to have bipartisan support and there was speculation that after a few prior false starts on similar legislation, this version of paid leave might have enough support to become law.  Unfortunately for proponents of this bill, the measure failed yesterday after Republicans defeated the measure.  Although the fight for paid leave in the state might be on the back burner for now, I would expect supporters of paid leave to give it another go down the road.  The only question is how long they will wait to push another paid leave bill. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Bike Rider Terminated For Flipping Off President Trump's Motorcade Sues Former Employer Back in November, I pointed readers to an employee of a government contractor that was terminated after a picture of her flipping off ...

If readers recall, the National Labor Relations Board (‘NLRB’) had previously implemented what has become known as the ‘ambush election rule’.  This rule drastically shortened the period when a union election can occur, from a standard 38 days to as little as 10 or 11 days.  Employers and pro business groups cried foul after the rule went into effect in April 2015 and argued the rule improperly prohibited employers from educating their employees as to the negatives of unionization prior to an election occurring.  With such a tight window between when a petition is filed and when the election can occur as to whether to unionize, employers pointed out that much of their time would be spent on legal strategy rather than attempting to present counter arguments to what a union told employees about unionization. When the NLRB assumed a 3 - 2 majority of Republican appointed Board members, attention turned to whether the ‘ambush election rule’ would be rescinded, amended,...

Readers who follow this blog are well aware of attempts by Republicans in Missouri to make the state the next right to work state in the country.  (States with right to work laws provide that employees cannot be forced to join a union as a condition of employment nor can employees be required to pay union dues if they are not a member of the union.  These non-member union dues are often called ‘agency fees’ and are collected by unions, from non-members, to help pay for the collective bargaining that a union does on behalf of all employees, regardless of whether the employee is a member of the union or not). After a few false starts over the past few years, Republicans in the state were able to pass a right to work bill last year.   Republican Governor Eric Greitens subsequently signed the bill into law and Republicans cheered ( while Democrats and labor unions simmered ).  However, pro labor supporters quickly regrouped and obtained enough signatures to put ...

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is expected to announce his support for a bill that would provide a guaranteed federal job for all (with pay set at $15/hour) and also provide health care to these workers.  Advocates of this plan have hailed it as an ambitious proposal that would have a wide spread positive impact on American workers. Under this proposal, advocates have pointed out that any American that wants a job would receive one.  (It logically follows that the unemployment rate would subsequently drop, perhaps to an all time low).  In doing so, these workers could begin work on infrastructure projects, pursue health care or education positions, and other goals/projects that would require federal workers.  It has been suggested that this proposal would also spur employers to provide more benefits and better pay to attract (and retain) the best of the best.  (If not, these workers would presumably work for the federal government, with $15/hour pay and...

A few months ago, a proposed paid leave law was introduced that would allow new parents to ‘borrow’ from their Social Security benefits in order to take twelve weeks of paid leave.  The plan would in essence let workers take an early withdrawal from their Social Security benefits and obtain paid leave, but these workers would then be required to defer their right to receive their Social Security benefits later in life.  Several Republican Senators, including Joni Ernst, Mike Lee, and Marco Rubio voiced their initial support for the proposal and have appeared willing to attempt to turn the proposal into law.  However, critics quickly started to question whether it was wise to allow workers to borrow from their Social Security benefits now (to obtain paid leave), when many would likely need the Social Security benefits later in life (with little room to wait for any deferred time to pass). Recently, the Urban Institute released a report in which it found that un...

I spent more time on the road, in planes, and in hotel rooms this week than I have in recent memory.  So goes the life of a busy attorney.  As a result, excuse the brevity of this week's post.  With that being said, I do point readers to the ongoing minimum wage and paid leave "fight" in Massachusetts.  That is quite an interesting story as November approaches... As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Starbucks to Conduct Nationwide Racial Bias Education Training Without getting too far into the weeds on this story, earlier this week, Starbucks announced it would close 8,000 locations next month to conduct racial bias training after an incident at one of its locations in Philadelphia recently.  The company announced that on the afternoon of May 29th, it would close its locations to conduct the training.  Employers that have heard about this development might want to use it as an opportunity to look at their own wor...