The Tenth Circuit ruled in an unpublished decision today that a union member did not have a claim against his union for violating the duty of fair representation. In Menges v. ABF Freight System, Inc., the court ruled that, although the union agent representing an employee in a grievance hearing after the employee was terminated may […]
As of July 1st, all employers who employ more than fifteen employees are required to register with a “status verification system,” or an E-Verify system operated by the federal government to verify the federal legal working status of any individual who is a newly hired employee. The requirement is a provision found in Senate Bill […]
In Turner v. Lone Peak Public Safety District, the Utah Court of Appeals upheld the rather uncontroversial determination of a local government entity appeals board that an employee’s threat to kill his boss, the police chief, justified his termination. The fact that the employee was under the influence did not excuse the threat nor did […]
The United States Supreme Court ruled on June 17, 2010, in New Process Steel L.P. v. NLRB, that as of December 31, 2007, when there were no longer three members of the NLRB, the NLRB lacked authority to act as a Board. In ruling as it did, the Court stated that it “was not insensitive […]
On Thursday, June 17, the United States Supreme Court upheld the discipline of a police officer for sending personal and some sexually explicit text messages on a city provided pager. In Ontario v. Quon, the Supreme Court assumed without holding that the police officer had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his text messages. It […]
In a decision issued May 24, 2010, the United States Supreme Court ruled that, in claims of disparate impact, every time a discriminatory practice is used a new cause of action arises, even if the decision establishing that practice was made after the statute of limitations has run. Justice Scalia, writing the opinion for the Court […]
On May 14, 2010, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that Utah health care facilities are not immune from claims brought by patients against them asserting that the facilities were negligent when they credential doctors or health care professionals at their hospitals. In Archuleta v. St. Mark’s Hospital, the Court stated that “negligent credentialing is ‘simply the […]
The Utah Supreme Court ruled on Friday, May 14, 2010, that a workers compensation decision holding that a worker’s injuries were not caused by the operation of a machine could not be used by by the party that created or designed the machine in a later lawsuit if that party was not the worker’s employer. The […]
The National Mediation Board announced today that it would recognize an airline or a railroad union if a simple majority of ballots cast in an organizing election supported organizing a union. This Final Rule reverses an earlier rule that required a majority of the entire work force to favor unionizing. This is a major change that could […]
The 2010 legislative sessions saw a lot of activity affecting employers and employees. Approximately fifty newly enacted laws will have some affect on employers and employees. With only two or three exceptions, all of these laws become effective May 11, 2010. (For a complete list of all the bills passed and their effective dates click here.) […]
