United States: New York City Council Continues Push To Ban Credit Checks In Connection With Employment Decisions

The New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Rights recently held a hearing on a bill that would amend the New York City Human Rights Law to prohibit employers from basing an employment decision on the consumer credit history of an applicant or employee.

Nearly 80 percent of the City Council members are co-sponsors of the bill and it has the Mayor’s firm support. The hearing ended without a resolution, but we certainly expect that […]

By | October 9th, 2014 ||

Canada: Worker Who Spread Rumour That MOL Inspector "Paid Off" By Company, And That Company Was Closing, Was Fired For Cause

A worker who contacted a Ministry of Labour inspector with safety concerns but didn’t get the answer he wanted, and then spread rumours that the MOL inspector had been “paid off” by the company, was dismissed for cause, an Ontario judge has decided.

The company, at the wrongful dismissal trial, denied that it dismissed the employee for complaining about safety issues. The company instead called evidence about a series of concerns with the employee’s performance, […]

By | October 9th, 2014 ||

United States: ERISA’s "Overlapping Fields Of Fire" Preempt Wisconsin’s Family And Medical Leave Act

Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act (“WFMLA”), requires that employers allow employees six weeks of unpaid leave following “[t]he birth of an employee’s natural child,” and that employers allow an employee to substitute “paid or unpaid leave of any other type provided by the employer” for the unpaid leave provided by the law. However, in a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee) […]

By | October 8th, 2014 ||