The Workplace Report with Ancel Glink

If you watched the Democratic debate last Wednesday, you heard a lot about non-disclosure agreements. In the days following, Elizabeth Warren has been pressuring Michael Bloomberg to release former employees from non-disclosure agreements. With all this talk about non-disclosure agreements, many people might be wondering what exactly a non-disclosure agreement is? A non-disclosure agreement is an agreement between two or more parties where one or more parties agree to keep some information confidential. These are often used by employers as part of the agreement to settle a lawsuit by an employee before it has been brought. The employer wants the employee to sign the non-disclosure agreement to keep the employee’s allegations against the employer confidential. Even if these allegations are untrue, employers may not want to go through the time, expense, and potentially negative publicity of a lawsuit and choose to settle instead. The non-disclosure agreement ensures that the emplo...

When we offer inclusivity training or counsel our clients on transgender rights in the workplace, we emphasize the right of everyone in the workplace to be known by the gender with which they identify and to be especially cognizant of the pronouns that are used about individuals. It often feels demeaning or mocking when someone who identifies as a male is purposely referred to as “she” or “her”. Similarly with females, it’s often regarded as an insult to infer that a female is “manly” and therefore different in a bad way by referring to her as “him” or “he.” The fact that these are insults or mocking highlights again how sensitive the subject of gender is to most people and how important it is to get it right. We advise employers to ask employees about the pronouns which they want used when referring to them. Some employers are going a step further in recognizing that employees may feel unwanted attention on their gender identity if they are among a few who declare the pronouns ...

Last year, we warned our readers that the Illinois Biometric Privacy Information Act (BIPA) could be a source of major liability for companies, and Facebook recently learned this the hard way. In late January, the company paid $550 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that it violated BIPA. BIPA(740 ILCS 14/1), enacted in 2008, requires employers to take the following measures when collecting employee biometric data: Receive the employee’s written consent prior to collecting biometric data; Inform employees that their biometric data is being collected; Include the purpose of the collection of the biometric data (like for use to keep track of coming in and out of work); Disclose the length of time the employee’s biometric data will be retained; Not profit from biometric data-biometric data cannot be sold, trades, leased, or used for profit in any manner; Not release biometric data to a third party without the employee’s consent or a subpoena, warrant, or so...

Often times when representing the employer in employment discrimination cases, we find ourselves encouraging employers to settle claims even though the employer has solid legal defenses. It is frustrating for employers to retreat from a legal position when they know that they did everything right. It’s also frustrating for the lawyers of those employers who really want to prove that the employer did everything right. The problem is often that the employee/plaintiff has a fact or two that seems to support their claim and the other problem is that JURIES ARE UNPREDICTABLE . Case in point: St. Louis County just agreed to settle a discrimination case of a police officer claiming that he was denied promotions based on his sexual orientation for $10 million. That is a lot of money, but not so much when you know that the settlement came after a jury awarded the officer almost $20 million. While the officer claimed loss of promotional opportunities, he remains employed as a police offic...

On January 31, 2020, the United States Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new Form I-9. Employers must begin using the form on May 1, 2020. The USCIS will not accept prior versions of the form after that date. You can check out the USCIS press release discussing the new form by clicking here . All employers must fill out a Form I-9 when they hire a new employee in order to verify that employee’s identity and thus, ensure the employee is eligible to work in the United States. The form must be filled out regardless of whether the employee is a U.S. citizen or non-citizen. Employers do not have to file the Form I-9 with the USCIS. Rather, they must keep the form on file for each employee for three years after the date of the employee’s hire or one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. These documents must be made available for inspection upon the request of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor, or the Department of...

In what is believed to be a first of its kind decision, a New Jersey Appellate Court recently upheld the order of a worker’s compensation judge requiring an employer to reimburse its employee for the cost of medical cannabis. The employee, a construction worker, was injured on the job. To assist with pain management, sleep, and to limit the employee’s need for opioids to manage pain, his treating physician prescribed him medical cannabis under that state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act (“CUMMA”), a statute very similar to Illinois’s Act of the same name . Since cannabis, regardless of whether it is used for medical reasons, is still illegal under the federal Controlled Substance Act (“CSA”), the employee’s health insurance did not cover the cost of the prescription and he began paying about $616 per month for medical cannabis, which reportedly successfully curbed his need for opioids and managed his pain. As part of his worker’s compensation claim, the employee sou...

Last Friday, the CDC declared the coronavirus a public health emergency and imposed mandatory quarantines on U.S. citizens who have recently visited certain parts of China. So far to date, 12,000 people have reportedly been infected with the disease, with 259 confirmed deaths . The virus’s method of transmission is still unknown. This is scary stuff. Some employees will undoubtedly be worried about coming to work, afraid that they may catch the virus. What should employers do? First, reassure nervous employees that very few cases of the virus exist in the United States, and it does not appear to be spreading rapidly. The common flu remains a much more significant health risk than the coronavirus . Second, tell sick employees to stay home. Coming into work sick is not a sign of one’s hard work and dedication but an irresponsible action that might spread the sickness and harm the office’s productivity. Encouraging sick employees to stay home will ease fears that the sickn...