Labor

Expert Analysis

• Employer's Agenda: Honeywell Counsel Talks ESG

  

  As companies face more pressure from shareholders to operate as agents of change, employment attorneys must engage in efforts to reduce risks and optimize opportunities related to environmental, social and governance factors — because workplace issues are salient in all three categories, says Lindsay Hedrick, chief labor and employment counsel at Honeywell.

• Labor Arbitration For Virtual Work Issues Can Be Tricky

  

  The rise of virtual workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to confusion for labor arbitrators who need to determine liability for off-duty misconduct, but considering three main factors can help them address the eroding boundary between an employee's workplace and off-the-clock space, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.

• Employer's Agenda: Cognizant Counsel Talk Remote Work

  

  The pandemic-induced shift to hybrid remote work models poses new employment law risks, but in-house and outside counsel can take practical steps to manage wage and hour requirements, variations in state laws, and the complicated web of federal and state vaccine mandates, say Michael Ferrans and Aliya Horne, associate general counsel for labor and employment at Cognizant.

• What Starbucks Union Efforts May Mean For Service Industry

  

  Collective bargaining agreements that result from growing unionization drives at Starbucks cafes across the country could change how and what customers can order — and foreshadow broader shifts in the service and restaurant industries as COVID-19 and attendant labor shortages put pressure on employers, say David Pryzbylski and Colleen Naumovich at Barnes & Thornburg.

• Employer's Agenda: Toyota Counsel Talks Worker Retention

  

  Michael Martinez, managing counsel for labor and employment at Toyota Motor North America, discusses how companies and in-house counsel can address the pandemic-related labor shortage, and avoid common pitfalls when implementing wage increases, remote work setups and other well-meaning efforts to attract new workers.

• Justices Correctly Used Shadow Docket In OSHA Vax Ruling

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s use of the shadow docket to sink the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for large employers in National Federation of Independent Business v. U.S. Department of Labor was the right procedure given the rule’s time-limited duration — even if the court reached the wrong substantive result, says Peter Fox at Scoolidge Peters.

• What High Court Rulings Mean For Employer Vax Mandates

  

  While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent opinions on COVID-19 vaccination mandates for private and health care employers offer important guidance on workplace applicability, lower courts’ resolution of the underlying lawsuits could still pose further changes, says Jordann Wilhelm at Radey Law Firm.

• 5 Advertising Law Trends To Watch

  

  For the world of advertising, 2022 will bring new compliance challenges and considerations shaped by legal developments in everything from nonfungible-token commerce in the metaverse to the ever-growing impact of social media on young users, say Jason Gordon and Deborah Bessner at Reed Smith.

• Contractor Classification Battle Unlikely To Cool Off In 2022

  

  Despite a flurry of activity in the independent contractor classification space, 2021 did not provide the clarity many practitioners hoped for — and this year there appears to be no sign of a cease-fire between those who favor and oppose making it easier to classify workers as contractors, say attorneys at McDermott.

• Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2022: Part 2

  

  Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy continue their discussion of employer priorities for the new year, including plans to mitigate discrimination claims from remote workers, ensure LGBTQ inclusion, adapt vacation policies and more.

• Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2022: Part 1

  

  Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy discuss how a constantly changing employment law landscape — especially concerning COVID-19 issues — requires employer flexibility when addressing priorities for the new year.

• Understanding Labor Law Issues In Starbucks Union Win

  

  Anne Lofaso at the West Virginia University College of Law lays out how labor law applies to Starbucks workers’ recent vote to unionize at a single store in Buffalo, New York, particularly with regard to determinations of appropriate bargaining units and communities of interest, and she predicts what this could mean for National Labor Relations Board standards and the future of organizing.

• Employer Lessons On NLRB Elections After Amazon Vote

  

  The ongoing labor saga at an Alabama Amazon distribution center — involving a failed vote to unionize this spring, subsequent claims of company misconduct and the National Labor Relations Board’s recent order of a second election — contains important employer takeaways on mail-in ballots, employee turnout and other key aspects of workplace elections, says Thomas Lenz at Atkinson Andelson.