Blanchard & Walker Weekly

Topic of the Week  Are You Familiar With Your Employer's Policies?

Generally an employer provides its employees with a handbook or workplace policies to set forth expected behavior and procedures within the workplace. Employer policies can impact your ability to bring a claim in court and in some cases can create contracts between the employer and employee. 

1. Does an employer have to follow its own handbook or personnel policy?

Some state courts have held that an employer handbook is a contract unless the handbook expressly states that it is not a contract.  If the handbook is deemed to be a contract by the court, then the employer can be liable for breaching that contract if it fails to follow the procedures outlined within the handbook. For example your handbook might state that employees “will” rather than “may” receive a severance package- in the past this has been interpreted to create an obligation on behalf of an employer to provide a severance package for its employees.

2. My employer has a general policy, but it only seems to affect certain employees- is this legal?  

It is true that sometimes facially neutral policies (policies that are applied to all employees equally and are not expressly illegal) can sometimes violate the law.

For example, a policy may prohibit promotion when an employee takes off four or more consecutive weeks during the year. A policy like this would tend to discriminate against women who took time off due to pregnancy or employees who were sick or otherwise temporarily disabled.  Individuals negatively affected by a policy like this could potentially file a lawsuit against their employer.

Thought of the Week

"Failing to update employee handbooks regularly can make employers vulnerable to legal risks and liabilities, resulting in costly fines, penalties, and attorneys’ fees. Employment laws are often complicated, and employers need to be aware of any new regulatory developments that may impact their organizations and workforce."

–David Rook

Weekly Comic by Jerry King

Weekly Comic by Jerry King

Blog of the Week

The War Over No Strike Clauses Has a New Front Line

In Erie, PA, Wabtec workers are poised to fight for the right to strike.

Top Five News Headlines

  1. Amazon Denies Responsibility for Worker’s Death From Working in Heat
  2. How Workers Use Side Gigs to Make Ends Meet While Unemployed
  3. Florida Immigrants Detail Their Exit Following DeSantis Immigration Law
  4. Southwest Airlines Reaches Tentative Agreement with Mechanics’ Union
  5. Bosses View Well-Being Different Than Their Employees Do

List of the Week

from Griffin Benefits

Employer policies to consider this year:

  • pay transparency
  • paid leave
  • remote and hybrid work

Archive

FROM THE BLOG
  • How Do I Join a Class Action and How Does it Work for Me? November 11, 2022

    What is a Class-Action Lawsuit?

    Class Actions can have many benefits for employees and consumers.  At its most basic, a class-action allows for one court to  decide together in one case issues impacting many people, usually when the amount at issue is too little to attract competent counsel for individual cases but the number of people impacted by the alleged illegal practice may be very large.  When addressed together, the claims are sufficient to support a lawsuit – whether a Federal Court Class action or sometimes in state court.

    How can I Join a Class-Action Lawsuit?

    Participation in a Class Action depends on court approval or “certification” of the class. If you think you are potentially covered by a class action lawsuit, (more…)

  • Working off the Clock – Alro Steel FLSA Overtime Pay Lawsuit May 30, 2022

    Federal Court Orders Notice to Alro Steel Employees in Nationwide Overtime Lawsuit

    Blanchard & Walker sent the court approved notice to 2500+ Alro Steel employees who may have a right to seek recover for off-the-clock uncompensated time at Alro Steel facilities throughout the country. Federal District Court Judge Murphy for the Eastern District of Michigan, granted conditional certification and ordered notice of FLSA rights to opt-in for current and former warehouse employees of Alro Steel Corporation. (more…)

  • The End of Forced Arbitration for Survivors of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment March 8, 2022

    On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment Act. This law is one significant step forward in the fight to end arbitration contracts that deny access to the Courts for violations of fundamental workplace rights.

    For far too long, countless survivors, workers, and consumers have been silenced by forced arbitration.

    The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act nullifies “agreements between employees and their employers in which the employees waive their rights to sue in the case of sexual assault or harassment,” as reported by The Washington Post. More than 60 million Americans are subject to such clauses, often buried in the fine print of their employment contracts.

    The Legal Details

    (more…)