Employment Law - The Indiana Lawyer

Macchia: Are noncompetes standing on shaky ground?

August 18, 2021 | Melissa Macchia

Over the last 18 months we have seen drastic changes in this country’s employment laws as a result of the pandemic, including new and updated laws and regulations related to sick leave, unemployment compensation and employee safety requirements. One change that has been mostly overshadowed by the ever-evolving nature of the pandemic, and its impact on the employment area, is a shift in the use and the enforceability of noncompetition agreements.

Pettygrove: Challenges with critical race theory in workplace training

August 18, 2021 | Joseph Pettygrove

Recent media reports have reflected an increasing trend of employers providing some form of critical race theory training in the workplace. CRT-focused trainings raise legal and practical issues in the employment context.

Kilies and Simonton: Military leave and employee rights to reemployment

August 18, 2021 | Janelle Kilies and Anthony Simonton

The Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act provides various protections to service members; most notably, the act requires employers to reemploy employees returning from military service. It is important to understand the basic requirements of the act, as failure to comply with them could expose an employer to claims for lost wages, lost benefits and attorney fees.

NLRB decision creates union decertification limbo

August 18, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

A handful of laborers in northwest Indiana who want to oust their union are instead having to cool their heels because, their attorney says, the National Labor Relations Board is not following the new rule it finalized last year specifically meant to prevent delays in votes on union representation.

Boshkoff: Preliminary and postliminary activities under the FLSA

August 18, 2021 | Ellen Boshkoff

In March, the 7th Circuit ruled that members of the Chicago Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Unit were not entitled to minimum wage or overtime compensation for off-duty time they spent storing their rifles and gear in their homes. The ruling provides clarification of preliminary and postliminary work activities and the “continuous workday rule” under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Littler names McLaughlin as Indianapolis, San Diego office managing shareholder

June 15, 2021 | IL Staff

Littler Mendelson PC has named Alan L. McLaughlin regional office managing shareholder of the firm’s Indianapolis and San Diego offices.

Fired Cathedral teacher appeals dismissal of his lawsuit against archdiocese

May 20, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

Joshua Payne-Elliott, a foreign language and social studies teacher, sued the archdiocese after his contract with Cathedral was terminated in June 2019.

Supreme Court won’t hear case involving the N-word

May 18, 2021 | Associated Press

The Supreme Court is declining to hear a case that would have let the justices decide whether a single use of the N-word in the workplace can create a hostile work environment.

Justices consider hearing a case on ‘most offensive word’

May 17, 2021 | Associated Press

In a case focusing on elevator graffiti, Robert Collier is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether a single use of the N-word in the workplace can create a hostile work environment, giving an employee the ability to pursue a case under Title VII of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Fired Cathedral teacher’s suit against archdiocese over same-sex marriage dismissed

May 10, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

In a one-page order, Marion Superior Special Judge Lance Hamner did what a previous special judge and the Indiana Supreme Court had not done – dismiss the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a gay teacher against the archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Reversing Trump, US restores transgender health protections

May 10, 2021 | Associated Press

The U.S. will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, the Biden administration announced Monday, reversing a Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care.

Union leaders decry Indiana’s high rate of worker deaths

May 10, 2021 | Associated Press

Indiana labor union leaders are calling for improved workplace safety enforcement with the state’s rate of deaths while working about one-third higher than the national average.

Holcomb to reinstate job-seeking rule for unemployed, study whether to ax federal benefit

May 10, 2021 | Indianapolis Business Journal Staff

Gov. Eric Holcomb is set to reinstate a requirement that those applying to collect unemployment benefits actively seek jobs and be available for work — a requirement that the state has waived since the beginning of the pandemic.

Indianapolis-area employers reluctant to require employee vaccinations

May 10, 2021 | John Russell, Indianapolis Business Journal

Around central Indiana, employers are offering plenty of incentives to encourage their workers to get vaccinations as part of an effort to keep their office towers, stores, warehouses and factory floors safe for co-workers and visitors. But few, if any, are requiring workers to get vaccinated.

Biden repeals Trump-era rule on gig workers

May 6, 2021 | Associated Press

The Biden administration nullified a Trump-era rule Wednesday that would have made it easier to classify workers as independent contractors, blocking a change supported by delivery and ride-hailing services.

Biden touts $28.6B restaurant relief program, orders tacos

May 5, 2021 | Associated Press

Setting foot in a restaurant for his first time as president, Joe Biden made a Cinco de Mayo taco and enchilada run to highlight his administration’s $28.6 billion program to help eateries that lost business because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Michelle Allen named Director of Office of Administrative Law Proceedings

April 22, 2021 | IL Staff

Michelle Allen, deputy director and general counsel of the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings, has been selected as the office’s new director, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Thursday.

FedEx workers are likely to suffer trauma, need support after mass shooting

April 16, 2021 | John Russell, Indianapolis Business Journal

What appears to be the deadliest workplace shooting in Indiana history is likely to cause a wide range of effects on surviving employees at the FedEx Ground Operations Center, from shock and confusion to grief and depression.

Store managers not involved in customer injuries not liable for negligence, justices rule

April 8, 2021 | Olivia Covington

In answering a certified question from a federal judge, the Indiana Supreme Court held Wednesday that store managers who are not directly involved in a patron’s injury on store property cannot be held liable for negligence under Indiana law.

Indiana Senate OKs optional pregnant worker accommodations

April 7, 2021 | Associated Press

Indiana legislators gave final approval to a bill that won’t require businesses to make accommodations for pregnant workers, despite an appeal from Gov. Eric Holcomb for a law requiring more protections.

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