labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Earlier this summer, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed a new Tennessee Workers’ Compensation law. The new law will limit employers’ liability for injuries suffered by employees during voluntary recreational, social or athletic activities. 

While this law limits workers’ comp cases in Tennessee, employers in other states should be cautious about permitting recreational or sports activities on company property.

The law highlights a dilemma for many employers – how to promote a healthy lifestyle without incurring additional liability for sports-related injuries and deaths.

The new law was sparked by the lawsuit Gooden V. Coors Technical Ceramic Co. In that case, Mr. Gooden collapsed with a fatal heart attack while playing basketball on the employer’s premises during an unpaid break. The court found that an employee’s death on the employer’s premises was a workers’ comp case – even though the basketball game was entirely voluntary.

Because the employer provided the basketball hoop, supervisors sometimes participated in games and the games occurred on company property, the court found that the death (more…)

 Senator Ted Kennedy recently introduced a bill – called the Healthy Families Act– that would implement a mandatory sick leave law.

If passed, the bill would require most employers to provide up to 7 paid sick days per year to employees.

In the House, the mandatory sick leave law introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro  is called HR 2460.

The mandatory sick leave law would apply to employers that have 15 or more full-time workers (or the equivalent) for at least 20 weeks of the year.

The bill would require that workers earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, beginning on the day the worker is hired. Employees would be eligible to use paid sick leave after 60 days.

Illinois employers can now relax — they will not face criminal charges if an employee or customer smokes on the premises.

Governor Pat Quinn signed Public Act 95-1029 into law. The bill amends the Smoke-Free Illinois act by specifying that violators will face civil – not criminal –charges. While the penalties will still include fines, they will not include jail time.

The Smoke-free Illinois Act requires that every employer post signs prohibiting smoking within 15 feet of any doors. It also prohibits smoking in all workplaces, including bars, restaurants, schools, theaters and casinos.

The Illinois non-smoking law defines smoking as carrying a lit cigarette, pipe, cigar or any other smoking material or implement. In addition, smoking, burning, inhaling and exhaling are also defined as smoking. The law specifically prohibits herbs and weeds as well as tobacco.

Smoking is prohibited 15 feet from any windows that open or ventilation intakes that serve an indoor workplace under the new law. 

The current law replaced a less-restrictive Illinois smoking ban (more…)

Employers in Illinois need to be aware of a new ruling that holds them liable for the conduct of any supervisor towards any employee – especially in regards to sexual harassment.

The Illinois Supreme Court recently ruled that an employer is responsible for sexual harassment by an employee who happens to be a supervisor, even if the employee is not in that supervisor’s chain of command.

In other words, it is sexual harassment when a supervisor or manager makes advances towards any employee, not just one who works for the supervisor.

This ruling makes it even more important than ever, that Illinois employers train supervisors and managers to prevent sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

In Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department v. Illinois Human Rights Commission, the judge ruled on April 16, 2009 that the employer was strictly liable for any manager’s or supervisor’s actions.

Sangamon County is primarily a rural area, about 200 miles southwest of Chicago.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal anti-discrimination law, an individual is not a “supervisor” in a case unless he or she has the authority to affect the victim’s employment status directly.

However, under the Illinois Human Rights Act, no such restriction applies. The employer is liable for the conduct of every supervisor in the organization, towards each and every employee in the organization.

In this case, a female records clerk with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department filed a complaint of sexual harassment and retaliation against the department. She alleged that a sergeant within the department, who was not her supervisor, was harassing her.

On appeal, the judge ruled that the employer had established a hostile work environment.

Interestingly enough, initially the suit was against both the male supervisor and the employer. The male supervisor, however, was dismissed from the case after settling out of court. This left the employer alone liable for his behavior.

The judge ruled that the employer was “strictly liable” for harassment (more…)

Under the new South Carolina Immigration law, employers must take a number of measures to ensure that the employees they are hiring may legally work in the U.S.

These steps include:

• Complying with all federal I-9 requirements
• Verifying the legal status of employees

The state recommends that employers use E-Verify, a free federal program, to verify the employee’s identity online in a few minutes.

This law goes into effect on July 1, 2009 for private employers with 100 or more employees. Private employers with fewer than 100 employees have until July 1, 2010 to comply.

E-Verify is a program available through the Department of Homeland Security. It detects fraudulent documents by comparing the employee’s information, including date of birth, social security number and gender, with a nationwide database and social security records and immigration documents.

A new feature of E-Verify will also permit the system to compare the photos on immigration documents with those in the DHS records. This will make it more difficult for an employee to counterfeit immigration documents such as green cards.

According to the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, employers can also verify identity by making sure that the employee has a South Carolina driver’s license or I.D. card. A driver’s license or I.D. card from another state with requirements as strict as those in South Carolina is also acceptable. The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles has determined that drivers’ licenses or identification cards issued by Alaska, Arizona, (more…)