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Employment Lessons

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20 Dec 2017 Employment Visas: Changes to Expect in 2018

Employment Lessons, High Stakes Employment Issues | BT Currents

  Change is afoot. The Trump administration has moved full steam ahead on immigration proposals focused on, among other things, increased scrutiny of employment visas. The proposed changes were announced in a semi-unified agenda and comes at the heels of Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order, which was rolled out earlier this year. If implemented, these changes will affect thousands of immigrants, and may make it more difficult to obtain work authorization for certain categories of employees.   This agenda does not by…

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19 Dec 2017 Tax Deduction to be Curtailed for Some Settlements of Sex Harassment Claims

Employment Lessons, Workplace Culture and Conduct | Jennifer Stocker

  The federal tax bill published late on Dec. 15 has a number of provisions that, if enacted, would deny an employer’s ability to deduct payments made in settlement of employee claims. If the tax bill passes, the negotiation of both the nature of settlement payments/court awards and reporting to the IRS will become even more critical given its impact on the deductibility of settlement payments. Get your tax lawyer involved early in the negotiation to help you document your preferred tax reporting position.  …

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13 Dec 2017 Can’t Touch This: Seventh Circuit Panel Backs Tenured Teacher Law

Employment Lessons | Taylor Hunter

  In Elliott v. Board of School Trustees of Madison Consolidated Schools, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit unanimously upheld a federal district court’s ruling that the layoff provision of Indiana’s 2011 Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) violated the federal Contract Clause when applied retroactively to a teacher who earned tenure before the new law took effect. The decision was issued on Dec. 4.   For more than 80 years, Indiana’s 1927 teacher tenure law has created contractual…

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05 Dec 2017 Part 4: Sex, Power, and the Workplace – When to Tell the Customer They’re Wrong

Employment Lessons, Workplace Culture and Conduct | BT Currents

  We all know the old adage: the customer always comes first. But, what about a predatory, harassing customer? Not so much.   Sexual misconduct has been ablaze in the news, and doesn’t seem to show any sign of halting. Alaska Airlines was recently pulled into the fray when Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, accused the airline of failing to do anything about a fellow passenger’s sexual misconduct against her. The Alaska Airlines incident underscores the reputational dangers for companies that turn…

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04 Dec 2017 Holiday Road – Avoiding Potholes in Holiday Parties

Employment Lessons | Hans Murphy

  Well, it’s already December (where did the year go?) and we’re all thinking about the most wonderful time of year – cutting out early and going to office parties! Parties are a great way to reward staff, celebrate accomplishments, foster teamwork, and create the foundation for another great year. What could possibly go wrong?   The annual holiday party is rife with traps for the unwary:   What’s in a Name?   For starters, what do you call the event? How about a “Christmas…

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30 Nov 2017 School Boards Beware: ‘Control the Clock and Control the Game’ Policy Loses in Court of Appeals

Employment Lessons | Taylor Hunter

  Comparing the legendary basketball coach Dean Smith’s “control the clock and control the game” strategy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Barrett v. Walker Cty. Sch. Dist., 872 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 2017) struck down a Georgia school district’s policy that restricted public comment at school board meetings.   The court’s decision in Barrett, arose from failed efforts of the school’s union president to secure a speaking slot during an upcoming board meeting. Although not mandated by Georgia law, the…

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29 Nov 2017 Part 3: Sex, Power, and the Workplace – The Books of Etiquette

Employment Lessons, Workplace Culture and Conduct | Jeanine Gozdecki

  Skip the holiday turkey or the $25 gift certificate. This year, give a gift to your employees that will have a lasting impact on how they treat each other.   Give everyone a book of etiquette.   I’m serious. Make them read it, too. Reviving the lost rules of proper conduct could go a long way in reducing workplace misconduct of all kinds—including sexual harassment (the list is growing every day), other harassment and discrimination, bullying, rudeness, and personality conflicts. Recently, good behavior and…

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28 Nov 2017 Part 2: Sex, Power, and the Workplace – Preventing the Backlash

Employment Discrimination, Employment Lessons, Workplace Culture and Conduct | Jeanine Gozdecki

  Are workplaces at risk for a backlash? How do we preserve and continue to advance opportunities for women when their male coworkers are worried? Worried about exactly where the line is between friendliness and sexual harassment at work? A recent New York Times article raised this question with men at work, who wondered about their own behavior, and also raise concern for their female coworkers.   In general, although women at work acknowledge the recent conversation about sexual harassment is overdue, they now worry…

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28 Nov 2017 OSHA Extends Electronic Recordkeeping Submission Deadline to Dec. 15

Employment Discrimination, Employment Lessons | Mark Kittaka

  As we have covered in a prior post, the electronic recordkeeping deadline was moved from July 1, 2017, to Dec. 1, 2017, after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) filed a notice of proposed rulemaking. After the two-week debacle in August, where OSHA was forced to take down its own electronic portal for submission of OSHA records due to a potential compromise of user information, the final rule postponed the deadline for two more weeks until Dec. 15, 2017. OSHA states that this…

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27 Nov 2017 Part 1: Sex, Power, and the Workplace – Why Is This So Complicated?

Employment Lessons, Workplace Culture and Conduct | Jeanine Gozdecki

  Today’s national conversation about sexual misconduct is long overdue. As noted by firm partner, Norma Zeitler, in her thoughtful blog post, sexual harassment in the workplace has been tolerated for too long. Yet, the never-ending series of exposés, confessions, and “#metoo” posts tends to land in one giant bucket of wicked. No nuance; no context; no gray. Just black and white.   It’s so much more complicated than that. Of course, we are horrified to hear about the crime that involves the alleged seduction and potential rape…

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