The Sperry Law Blog

On December 4, 2012, the Boise City Council passed an anti-discrimination law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and in other matters.  Since then, I have had a flurry of questions about the new law and decided to post the basics here.

The provisions related to employment impose potential imprisonment and a fine for:

Denying “any other person because of sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression the right to work:

 » Read more about: Boise Employers: Go Directly to Jail, Do NOT Pass Go  »

Senate Bill 1098 was signed by Governor Otter last week and is effective as of March 22, 2013.  The new law relates to educational professional’s contract bargaining and requires most of the negotiations to be open to the public.  It also subjects the negotiations and any documents involved in the negotiations to public disclosure under the public writings disclosure laws.

 » Read more about: Idaho Senate Bill 1098 Signed into Law  »

On March 20, 2013, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) reintroduced legislation originally introduced in 2004 into the House and Senate. The 49-page Healthy Families Act would mandate that employers provide “paid sick time so that [employees] can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families.”

In what appears to be a further extension of the FMLA, the proposed bill would allow workers to earn up to 56 hours of paid sick leave: one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.

 » Read more about: Healthy Families Act Reintroduced to House and Senate  »

While on vacation in Australia, a man made the news when video showed him saving some children from a shark on the beach.  The problem?  He and his wife were both on sick leave from work.  His employer took exception to his method of recovery–shark wrangling–and terminated his employment.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, certain employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off for their serious health condition.  

 » Read more about: Medical Leave Probably Shouldn’t Involve a Vacation to the Beach  »

On March 13, 2013, Governor Otter signed House Bill 163 into law.  The purpose of the new law is to:

• provide for the orderly business operations for school districts and public charter schools with regard to setting dates certain for confirmation of personnel employment status at a time so as to allow for the board’s full consideration in setting the school’s annual fiscal budget; and
• provide for the cost saving and time saving process of allowing for electronic delivery of standard contracts to professional employees while still assuring receipt of the electronic delivery prior to taking negative action for non-response.

 » Read more about: Governor Otter Signs Educational Employee Contracts Bill  »

Yesterday, Governor Otter signed House Bill 82 into law.  I previously reported on the purpose and text of this workers’ compensation bill here.

 » Read more about: Idaho Governor Signs House Bill 82 into Law  »

The following excerpts are from OSHA’s press release:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered the Union Pacific Railroad Co., headquartered in Omaha, Neb., to immediately reinstate an employee who was terminated in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for reporting a work-related injury. The company will pay more than $350,000 in back wages with interest, compensatory and punitive damages.

“An employer does not have the right to retaliate against employees who report work-related injuries,”

 » Read more about: Union Pacific to Pay $350,000 for Safety Retaliation  »

Today, the NLRB announced that it will appeal Noel Canning vs. NLRB to the U.S. Supreme Court.  

On January 25, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that President Obama’s “recess” appointments of three National Labor Relations Board members was unconstitutional.  During a congressional recess, the President may appoint Board members without congressional approval.  The DC Circuit ruled that Congress wasn’t in recess when the appointments were made.  

 » Read more about: NLRB to Appeal Board Appointment Controversy to the Supreme Court  »

Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 for use. All employers are required to complete a Form I-9 for each employee hired in the United States.

Improvements to Form I-9 include new fields, reformatting to reduce errors, and clearer instructions to both employees and employers. The Department of Homeland Security has published a Notice in the Federal Register informing employers of the new Form I-9. 

 » Read more about: Employers Must Use New I-9 Form on or Before May 7, 2013  »

On February 28, 2013, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals completely reversed the National Labor Relations Board in Arkema, Inc., 16-CA-26371.  The following is excerpted from the Board’s summary of the case:

This case arises out of an August 2008 decertification election at a Houston-area chemical manufacturing plant, which the union lost 18-17.  The Board found four violations of the Act, but the Court reversed each one.  

 » Read more about: 5th Circuit Reverses NLRB’s Charges Surrounding a Decertification Election  »