The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

As I finish up my cup of coffee at a nice little coffeehouse in Dallas before heading to court, I find it hard to narrow things down this week.  Between articles on minimum wage hikes, right to work issues, paid leave (and literally everything in between), I found it difficult to not highlight a vast majority of articles I came across this week.  With that being said, I think the articles highlighted below will give readers a good overview of some major developments this past week, in particular the recent nomination to the National Labor Relations Board. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Ivanka Trump Finds Paid Leave To Be An Uphill Fight As a follow up to last week's note , Ivanka Trump appears to still be looking for a member of Congress to support the President's proposal for six weeks of paid leave for new mothers and fathers.  The plan, proposed in President Donald Trump's budget several weeks ago, resulted in Ivanka maki

Back in early 2015, I pointed readers to a case in Rhode Island that was thought to be the first to invoke the anti discrimination provisions of Rhode Island's medical marijuana law .  That law, known as the Hawkins-Slater Act, provides that "No school, employer, or landlord may refuse to enroll, employ, or lease to, or otherwise penalize, a person solely for his or her status as a [medical marijuana] cardholder."  After long last, this case has been decided by the Court. Callaghan v. Darlington Fabrics - Rhode Island Superior Court Facts :  Christine Callaghan ("Callaghan") sought an internship with Darlington Fabrics ("Darlington") in conjunction with a Master's program she was a part of that the University of Rhode Island.  On June 30, 2014, Callaghan met with Darlington's Human Resources Coordinator Karen McGrath to discuss the internship.  At that meeting, Callaghan signed Darlington's Fitness for Duty Statement in whic

Recently, Republican Senator Lamar Alexander (who is also Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) introduced legislation to repeal the "ambush election" rule which came into existence during the Obama administration .  The rule, frequently criticized by Republicans and pro-employer groups, aimed to speed up the union election process by restricting court challenges prior to an election.  Under this rule, a union election can occur in as little as 11 days...a far cry from the prior 25 day delay that normally occurred between the time a regional director directed an election and the election itself actually occurring.  Critics of this rule have continually pointed out that this small time frame gives employers little notice to figure out what is going on before the election even occurs.  Consequently, employers are given little time to prepare for a union election and potentially fight the unionization, if they so choose.  The rule further

I came across a lot of great articles earlier this week that would certainly warrant their own individual post.  However, I decided to pick and choose a few of the more relevant articles to focus on with this post.  Perhaps one of the more noteworthy developments was Ivanka Trump's trip to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to discuss the proposed paid parental leave plan that the Trump administration recently announced.  For those looking for a breakdown of the initial interaction between Ivanka Trump and Senator Marco Rubio ( namely his 'failed' hug which somehow generated a bit of a Tweetstorm ), I am afraid you will have to look elsewhere...this post will instead focus on the potential ramifications of that Capitol Hill meeting with an eye toward the possibility of a paid parental leave plan becoming a reality. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Ivanka Trump Leads Round table Meeting on Capitol Hill on Paid Parental Leave

Back in 2015 , a verdict was awarded in a case in favor of an employee who brought suit against CONSOL Energy, Inc. ("CONSOL") on the grounds that the company failed to accommodate the employee's refusal to use a biometric hand scanner at work on the grounds that it conflicted with the employee's religious beliefs.  CONSOL subsequently appealed the verdict and earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling in favor of the employee. Facts :  For those needing a refresher, Beverly Butcher, Jr. ("Butcher") worked as a coal miner at a mine owned by CONSOL.  When CONSOL implemented a biometric hand scanner to track its employees, Butcher objected and informed his supervisors that his religious beliefs prevented him from using the system.  (Butcher believed using the hand scanner would "mark" him the sign of the beast and allow the Antichrist to control him.)  Although CONSOL provided an alternative to employees who

As with many employment and labor law related cases (and bills) that are being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on. Facts : Illinois' Public Labor Relations Act authorizes exclusive representatives to enter into agency fee agreements with the State of Illinois that require employees, as a condition of their employment, to "pay their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration, and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment" to that particular union. The State of Illinois is party to agency fee agreements with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ("AFSCME") and the General Teamsters/Professional & Technical Employees Local Union No. 916 ("Teamsters"), such that employees represented by these unions are forced to pay compulsory agency fees.  As a result, Mark

A good portion of my week was spent in trial preparation and the subsequent trial.  Although I had little time to read through articles, being out of the office most of the week, there were still a couple articles I wanted to note. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Wage & Overtime Suit Brought By Current and Former Employees of Founding Farmers Last week, several current and former employees brought suit against the company that oversees the Founding Farmers restaurants located in Maryland and D.C.  As Tim Carman at The Washington Post  indicates, this lawsuit is based in part upon claims that employees were not paid overtime wages.  Although many employees worked at different locations throughout the week (and worked more than 40 hours combined among locations), they claim the company failed to pay them overtime wages in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Of course, this lawsuit was just filed last week and no answer ha

Earlier this week, the Republican controlled Maine Senate failed to pass a bill that would have significantly diminished the power of unions in the state.  The bill, LD 1553, would have required union members in the state to vote every two years on whether or not to decertify their union.  If any labor union failed to receive a majority of votes in its favor, that union would subsequently be decertified and no longer would serve as the representative of the bargaining unit.  LD 1553 also went one step further and would have allowed employees of a decertified union to choose a new union at any particular time of their choosing. This bill, which would have given employees far reaching control over their unions, failed to pass the state Senate by a 20 - 13 vote.  It is not surprising to see that all Democrats opposed this bill...although it is somewhat eye brow raising to see that five Republicans opposed the bill.  Although turning Maine into a right to work state (which this bi

Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Rincones - Texas Supreme Court Facts :  Gilberto Rincones ("Rincones") worked as a catalyst technician for WHM Custom Services ("WHM") and was assigned to work at one of Exxon's refineries.  (Exxon utilized WHM as an independent contractor and required its contractors, including WHM, to have written drug policies.)  When Rincones began working with WHM, he signed forms acknowledging the substance abuse policy and procedures and consented to drug and alcohol testing.  The Substance Abuse Program required random drug testing by a third party who was responsible for providing collection, testing, and reporting services.  Any employee who violated the Program's requirements (such as testing positive for a forbidden substance) was identified as "inactive".  Exxon had a policy in place that no employee who was identified as "inactive" could work at its refinery until completion of a rehabilitation process. In Apr

Earlier this year, a proposed class action lawsuit was filed by several cheerleaders of the San Fransisco 49'ers and Oakland Raiders on the grounds that they were being improperly paid low wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") .  That suit, which named all 26 teams which have cheerleaders along with the N.F.L. itself, alleged a broad, decades long conspiracy among teams and the League to keep wages low across the board for cheerleaders in the League.  The proposed class action sought damages between $100 and $300 million. In late May, the District Judge hearing the case, Judge William Alsup, dismissed the suit on the grounds that sufficient facts had not been plead to establish a valid antitrust claim.  Of note, however, is that Judge Alsup gave the cheerleaders a chance to amend the suit and refile by June 15th.  At the time of the dismissal, the attorney representing the proposed class announced that the suit would be amended and "signi

Tough to narrow things down this week as I read through some great articles and updates on a wide range of employment and labor law related topics.  With quite a bit of troubling news unfolding across the world over the past few weeks, I hope this post can serve as a bit of a breather and change of pace for readers looking for a bit of levity and more "light hearted" reading. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Department of Labor Withdraws Interpretations Addressing Joint Employment & Misclassification of Employees As Independent Contractors On Wednesday, the Department of Labor ("DOL") withdrew its written interpretations which addressed joint employment and the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  Although these were informal guidance documents, they were roundly criticized for taking a broad view of the employment relationship under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Note, these interpretations w

MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC - NLRB Facts :  MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC d/b/a Grand Sierra Resort & Casino ("GSR") operated a facility that included a hotel, casino, restaurant, clubs, bars, and a pool which were all open to the general public.  Tiffany Sargent ("Sargent") was briefly employed by GSR as a "beverage supervisor" in December of 2012.  After her employment ended, Sargent continued to socialize at one of the clubs.  GSR had a long standing practice of allowing former employees to patronize its facility and did not prohibit Sargent from doing so.  In June of 2013, Sargent and another employee filed a class and collective action against GSR for alleged unpaid wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada law.  In July of 2014, GSR denied Sargent access to an event at one of the clubs.  GSR followed up with a letter and stated that with the on-going litigation (from the wage suit), it decided to bar Sargent from the premises. Sa

Last week, Cathy Glasson, who currently serves as President of SEIU Local 199, launched an exploratory gubernatorial campaign for the upcoming Governor's race in 2018.  (This union represents nurses, health care workers and school support employees.)  Readers might recall that President Donald Trump recently appointed former Republican Governor Terry Branstad to serve as Ambassador to China.  As a result, Governor Branstad's Lieutenant Governor, Republican Kim Reynolds, assumed the position on May 24th of this year.  In doing so, she became the state's first female governor. In Glasson's announcement, she criticized Republicans for adopting policies which she claimed prohibited growth in the middle class and called for an increase in the hourly minimum wage rate from its current rate of $7.25/hour up to $15/hour.  (Glasson indicated that efforts by Republicans in the state to roll back minimum wage rates earlier this year was a driving reason for her interest in

Minteq International, Inc. and Specialty Minerals, Inc. v. NLRB - D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  In 2012, Minteq International, Inc. ("Minteq") began requiring new employees to sign a non-compete and confidentiality agreement.  (At the time, Minteq's employees were represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, AFL-CIO and covered by a collective bargaining agreement.)  However, Minteq did not bargain or give notice to the Union in regard to the agreement or the restrictions contained therein.  The relevant portions of the non-compete agreement prohibited Minteq emloyees from working for Minteq's competitors for 18 months following their employment and further prohibited disclosure of confidential or proprietary information. On October 30, 2014, the Union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") against Minteq for its failure to bargain with the Union over the non-com

Quite a few employment law developments this week, although more so in politics rather than in the courts.  Between Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren making news this week in regard to the minimum wage fight, President Donald Trump has created his fair share of headlines as well (in regard to topics relevant to the employment law field that is).  Although this post is a bit more expansive than normal, I wanted to highlight several key developments that readers might have missed (or simply want more information on). As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Democratic House Minority Leader Vows to Take Up $15/Hour Minimum Wage Bill Last week, Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced that should Democrats win control of the House in the midterm elections next year, a $15/hour minimum wage bill would be passed within the first 100 hours of Democrats seizing control of the House.  As Elana Schor at Politico writes, Pelosi noted the las