Blog

On December 13, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) announced major changes to its union election rules. Expected to take effect on April 16, 2020, the new rules modify what is commonly known as the "quickie election rules" or "ambush election rules."

Employment contracts frequently include restrictions on an employee’s ability to work for a competitor (non-competition clause) or to solicit the employer’s employees or customers (non-solicitation clause) for a period of time after the employee’s employment ceases.

Labor and employment attorney Joe Cohen will be presenting at the January 6, 2020 meeting of the Northeast Indiana Human Resources Association.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule on what perks employers can exclude from the regular rate of pay calculation.

Anthony Stites will speak at a seminar titled “Indiana Mediation: Start-to-Finish,” presented by the National Business Institute. He will be presenting on how to handle difficult scenarios during a mediation, including discussions on handling multiple parties and multiple claims during a mediation and how to approach cases that have involved extensive and complex investigation.

An employer must respect employees’ privacy rights when conducting internal investigations in response to a claim or allegation. However, at the same time, it is necessary and important for the employer to obtain all of the relevant factual information. In most instances, the investigation must be conducted promptly and thoroughly.

There are various laws and statutes that create a duty to investigate by the employer when a claim has been made by an employee.

An internal investigation has been completed, but now a decision must be reached. If the investigation related to a claim or allegation that will result in discipline, the investigator must, usually, discern credibility of witnesses and relevant comfort levels with the information gathered.

Rachel Steinhofer will be the presenter at the October meeting of the American Payroll Association’s Fort Wayne Chapter. She will be presenting on the Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Thomas Kimbrough will be a presenter at Gibson Insurance’s “What’s the Risk: Crossing State Lines” seminar on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at Fort Wayne Country Club.

An article about the steps in a worker's compensation claim.

Conducting an internal investigation is an important part of any human resource professional’s job. This article provides guidelines that should be considered when conducting an investigation.

H. Joseph Cohen presented an update on labor and employment law at the Allen County Bar Association’s Annual Hot Topics Update on September 26, 2019.

Most human resource professionals will need to conduct investigations during their careers as a part of their job duties. Investigations are most often required for allegations which include theft, drug use, discrimination, threats, assaults and harassment.

Many business owners ask the question, “Do I need Worker’s Compensation Insurance?” If you are a business owner find out if you are required to carry this insurance.

Tony Stites will be a presenter at the Northeast Indiana Human Resources Association’s Annual Conference on Thursday, May 9, 2019 in the Walb Student Union on the campus of PFW. The conference runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with registration at 7:30 a.m.

Anthony Stites will be a presenter at the "What's New: HR, Legal, Compliance & Tools" seminar hosted by First Insurance Group.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a preview of what it is offering as the new rule raising the minimum salary threshold required for workers to qualify for the FLSA "white collar" exemption to $35,308.00 per year.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, ruled 8 to 4 that job applicants do not have legal standing to bring claims for unintentional age discrimination under the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA).

On Friday, January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued an opinion in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., Case 16-RC-010963 that re-institutes the common law test and standards for assessing whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor versus an employee.