According to yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is not likely to become law in the first 100 days of the Obama Administration. Because Republicans are threatening a filibuster, congressional Democrats are likely to instead focus their early efforts on two other low-hanging fruit: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Business Groups Sue to Block E-Verify Rule
The Society for Human Resource Management, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and three other groups filed a lawsuit late last month challenging the legality of an executive order that requires federal contractors to use E-Verify, the federal government’s Web-based system that uses Social Security files to ensure that employees are legal immigrants or
Immigration: More Changes to Form I-9 On The Way
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) last month submitted an interim final rule intended to streamline the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. Click here to read the USCIS’ Press Release on the interim final rule.
One result of this new rule will be a new Form I-9, which will be made available sometime in
New Bicycle Tax Credit Takes Effect in 2009
Here’s another new employment law that goes into effect on January 1, 2009: the Bicycle Tax Credit (BTC). Passed as part of that $700 billion bailout plan we’ve all heard so much about, the BTC allows employers to reimburse employees up to $20 per month for bicycle-commuting related expenses; the employer can then claim a tax
The Employee Free Choice Act: Maybe Not a Done Deal?
As reported earlier in the Stoel Rives World of Employment, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will be a high priority for Congress and President-Elect Obama in 2009. The EFCA would be the most wide-ranging revision to federal labor law in 50 years. It would, among other things, require employers to recognize a union
Obama Nominates Rep. Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary
Today’s New York Times is reporting that President-Elect Barack Obama will nominate California Representative Hilda Solis as his administration’s Secretary of Labor, the cabinet-level position that oversees the Department of Labor.
John Sweeney, head of the AFL-CIO (a coalition of labor unions) praised the appointment of Solis to the position. And not without good reason:
Siemens Settles FCPA Case for Record $800 Million
On December 15, German engineering company Siemens AG and three of its subsidiaries pleaded guilty to multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Siemens also reached a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under which Siemens will pay a record $800 million (a $450 million criminal fine and $350 million in disgorgement
Starbucks Wins Round in Class Action over Applications’ Marijuana Questions
Earlier this month, Starbucks scored an important procedural victory from the California Court of Appeals, which ruled that a class of employees lacked standing to sue over questions the coffee chain asked on its employment applications about prior marijuana convictions. Click here to read the opinion in Starbucks v. Superior Court.
Despite the apparent
EEOC Deadlocks Over ADA Amendments Act Rules
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) split yesterday over whether to approve a notice of proposed rulemaking on the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). The commissioners voted 2-2 on whether to approve a set of proposed rules that had been drafted by EEOC’s Office of Legal Counsel. Under the EEOC’s rules, a tie vote is the
Supreme Court to Hear Mixed-Motive Age Discrimination Case
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Last week, the United States Supreme Court agreed to review Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., a case involving whether a plaintiff alleging a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act must present "direct evidence" of discrimination to be entitled to a mixed-motive jury instruction.
A mixed-motive case in one where the evidence shows