labor and employment - The Indiana Lawyer

Austin: Employer handbook guidance after Boeing decision

March 19, 2019

For most of the 2000s, the National Labor Relations Board(NLRB) reviewed facially neutral work rules under an employee-friendly standard, leaving companies worried that employees could construe neutral rules to interfere with protected activities under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). However, in December 2017, the NLRB overruled the employee-friendly standard and established a new balancing test in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), and created three categories of work rules.

Bankovich & Pauli: Worker performance and terminations — Hasta la vista, maybe?

March 19, 2019

Contrary to the way “The Apprentice” depicts termination with the simple uttering of two words — “You’re fired” — terminations require much more planning and preparation. While some terminations may be conducted immediately out of necessity, most should be the final step of performance management.

Southern District case challenges reduction of U.S. Social Security benefits for Canadians

March 19, 2019

A Canadian woman with careers in both Canada and the United States has experienced those complications firsthand and is seeking legal redress for what she says are wrongly withheld benefits. Lorraine Beeler has sued the Social Security Administration in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, alleging her U.S. retirement benefits were wrongly reduced based on similar benefits she receives from Canada.

Marijuana legalization elsewhere leaves Hoosier employers dazed

March 19, 2019

For the small-business owners who arrived at the Indiana Statehouse March 6 to spend the day speaking with lawmakers, issues such as taxes, tariffs and finding qualified workers were more important than marijuana.

Indiana trooper fired for relationship with 17-year-old girl

March 11, 2019

An Indiana State Police trooper has been fired after admitting to continuing a relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

COA to travel for three arguments next week

March 7, 2019

Three Appeals on Wheels oral arguments will be heard next week, involving wrongful termination of a hospital employee, suppression of evidence from a pat-down search and a hotel’s appeal of granted possession.

DTCI: The Sanctity of the Hoosier Paycheck

March 5, 2019

Wage and labor litigation is the hot new cottage industry. With a mandatory award of attorney fees and risk for substantial defense costs, lawsuits for unpaid wages arising under state and federal law should heighten employers’ review of just what goes in, and what gets taken out of, one of the most sacred covenants of employment: the paycheck.

Supreme Court: Judges can’t rule from the grave

February 26, 2019

Federal judges can’t rule from the grave, the US Supreme Court held Monday, writing that a federal court can’t count the vote of a judge who died in a decision issued after the judge’s death. The justices said “federal judges are appointed for life, not for eternity.”

Supreme Court deciding commercial courts’ fate

February 19, 2019

After a nearly 3-year pilot project, the specialized dockets in six Indiana counties are getting positive feedback from litigants in business disputes.

Nexlink must face fired worker’s sex harassment retaliation claim

February 12, 2019

Nexlink, a “solutions provider” for AT&T, has lost its bid for summary judgment and must face a former employee’s claims that she was terminated in fired for filing a sexual harassment complaint against a former supervisor when she previously worked at AT&T.

Connecticut man sues over job rejection due to medical marijuana

February 12, 2019

A Connecticut man whose bid to become a firefighter in the state’s largest city was rejected because he uses medical marijuana has sued.

7th Circuit remands disability case over ALJ’s errant hypotheticals

February 11, 2019

A rejection of a man’s application for disability and supplemental security income was remanded after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found an administrative law judge’s hypothetical question ignored one of the man’s most significant deficits.

Senator decides to send child labor law bill to summer committee

January 31, 2019

A state senator accused of having a conflict of interest over a bill he filed that seeks to eliminate the state’s child labor laws has essentially withdrawn the proposal from consideration this year.

Indiana lawmaker seeks to eliminate state child labor laws

January 29, 2019

An Indiana lawmaker’s efforts to eliminate the state’s child labor laws have raised conflict of interest concerns because he employs hundreds of minors at a ski resort.

Ex-state employee loses disability discrimination appeal

January 28, 2019

A former of Department of Insurance employee fired after engaging in a verbal altercation and making crude comments about another employee has lost her disability-discrimination appeal before the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Divided 7th Circuit: Business owner may seek discharge of back pay debt

January 23, 2019

A divided panel of the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed an Indiana business owner to seek to discharge back pay debt in bankruptcy proceedings, rejecting the National Labor Relations Board’s argument that the debt was not dischargeable because the employees to whom the back pay was owed were “maliciously” fired.

Union sues GM, says idled workers should replace temps

January 3, 2019

The United Auto Workers union is accusing General Motors of violating a national contract by using temporary workers at a plant in Fort Wayne instead of employing full-timers who were laid off from its factories elsewhere.

Female Gary principal loses sex discrimination appeal

December 17, 2018

The 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to northern Indiana school corporation when it found a female principal was not discriminated against based on her sex when a male candidate got the job she applied for.

In labor arbitration class action, 7th Circuit asks, ‘What happens next?’

November 27, 2018

A wage and hour lawsuit that would have followed precedent became a case of first impression in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals with a ruling that held that while employers can prohibit class action arbitration, the district court, not the arbitrator, answers the questions about what can be arbitrated.

Critics say General Assembly harassment proposal sidesteps key concerns

November 27, 2018

A new proposed policy is being sent to the Indiana General Assembly House and Senate ethics committees for further review before it lands in both chambers for a full vote. Even so, questions linger over whether the recommendations will change behavior and protect potential victims.

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