Labor & Employment News Alert

Grace Hurney to Give Employment Law Presentation at WVCLE Litigation 2020 Seminar on February 8

January 13, 2020

Grace Hurney, a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Group, will be giving a presentation at the WVCLE Litigation 2020 Seminar on Saturday, February 8, 2020.  Her topic is entitled “Litigating Motions to Dismiss in Employment Cases.”
 
The two-day seminar will be held at the Canaan Valley Resort & Conference Center in Davis, West Virginia.  If you are interested in attending or…

“I Reported, and He Got Promoted” – Riot Games’ Bro-Culture Proves Costly

December 9, 2019

Riot Games, a Los Angeles based video game developer, has agreed to pay out $10 million in a settlement with a class of women who had brought claims of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.  Announced in August 2019, court filings on December 2, 2019, revealed for the first time some of the terms of the settlement Riot Games reached with nearly 1,000 women who worked at the developer since…

#MeToo, Times Up, and Labor Negotiations

July 31, 2019

The #MeToo and Times Up movements may be coming to your bargaining table in the near future. Earlier this month, Netflix and a major Hollywood union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), negotiated a contract containing anti-harassment protections in the form of prohibiting auditions from being held in private residences or hotel rooms. The…

A recent legal challenge may determine the enforceability of West Virginia’s parking lot bill

July 19, 2019

A federal lawsuit may determine whether employees have the right to keep firearms in their cars while at work. On March 10, 2018, the West Virginia Legislature passed The Business Liability Protection Act (“the Act”), which has become commonly known as the “The Gun Bill” or “The Parking Lot Bill.”  This legislation imposes liability and significant restrictions on an employer’s ability to manage…

Employers Must Provide Pay Data to EEOC by September 30

April 24, 2019

A federal judge ruled today that employers are required to provide 2018 pay data to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by September 30 detailing how much they paid workers as well as the number of hours worked. The data must be broken down by gender, race and ethnicity. The judge also ordered the EEOC to collect a second year of pay data and is allowing the Commission to decide…

Adkins and Hall to Present at 2019 Human Resources Conference

March 20, 2019

Two member of Jackson Kelly’s Labor and Employment Group, Wendy Adkins and Jill Hall, will both present at the WV Chamber’s 2019 Human Resources Conference to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and 10, 2019, at the Charleston Marriott Town Center, Charleston, WV.  Both will be giving presentations on Wednesday, April 10. Jill will be presenting "Conducting Pay Equity Audits" and Wendy's…

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: DOL Proposes Overtime Pay Expansion

March 7, 2019

After months of speculation, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled new overtime pay requirements on Thursday, March 7, 2019. The new proposal would raise the new salary threshold for white collar overtime exemptions will move to $35,308 per year under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Workers who earn less than $35,308 per year (or $679 per week) would be automatically eligible for overtime pay…

Best to Keep it to Yourself: 4th Circuit Finds That False Gossip Can Give Rise to a Hostile Work Environment

February 25, 2019

On February 8, 2019, the Fourth Circuit, which covers West Virginia, ruled that false rumors in the workplace can give rise to liability for an employer for a hostile work environment. The case Parker v. Reema Consulting Services, Inc., begins innocently enough. The Plaintiff in this case was hired as a low-level clerk for Reema Consulting, but quickly rose through the ranks, receiving six…

NLRB REVERSES COURSE ON “ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES”

January 30, 2019

In a decision that will benefit companies that rely on independent contractors, particularly ride-share services, the National Labor Relations Board issued an opinion last week reverting to its pre-Obama-Era standard for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act. 

The case, SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., 367 N.L.R.B. No. 75…

Employment Handbook Rules Post-Boeing

September 24, 2018

On June 6, 2018, following the NLRB’s decision on The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a Guidance Memorandum (18-04) on how NLRB Regional Offices should interpret workplace rules. Boeing’s new standard strikes a balance between an employers’ right to govern its workplace and an employees’ right to exercise their Section 7 rights. When…

Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment in FMLA Case of First Impression in West Virginia

April 29, 2018

On April 10, 2018, Judge Thomas E. Johnston of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District for West Virginia granted summary judgment to Frontier West Virginia Inc. (Frontier) in a case brought under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by a former employee (the plaintiff).  Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that Frontier interfered with his FMLA rights by denying him requested leave…

West Virginia Chamber of Commerce 2018 Human Resources Conference

April 22, 2018

Jill E. Hall and Justin M. Harrison of the Firm's Charleston, WV office will be presenting at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce 2018 Human Resources Conference in Charleston on April 26, 2018.

Jill will be discussing "What's Going On with Healthcare:  The Latest Changes and Impacts on Your Employee Benefits Program."  Justin will be discussing "Guns in the Workplace."

The Human Resources…