The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has announced a new grant program available to Ohio educational facilities aimed at improving school safety. The program makes available $4 million dollars for specific safety and security facility upgrades as well as the purchase of certain safety-related items. The $4 million set-aside comes in addition to a $4 [...]
House Bill 312, which aims to prevent fraud and misuse of political subdivision credit cards, went into effect on December 2, 2018. As a result, political subdivisions with an active credit card account have until February 2, 2019 to adopt a credit card policy in compliance with the law. House Bill 312 regulates the way [...]
On November 6, 2018, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) applies to all government employers, regardless of how many employees they employ. Mount Lemmon Fire Dist. v. Guido, 139 S. Ct. 22 (2018). The ADEA prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees age 40 and [...]
Employers required to submit records to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) might have two fewer reports to submit. Since 2016, OSHA has required certain employers to submit their OSHA 300 Logs, 301 Incident Reports, and 300A Annual Summaries. The rule is applicable to all employers with 250 or more employees, as well as [...]
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) utilizes Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) to settle disputes regarding decisions made by the Commission. The SEC isn’t the only executive agency to utilize these judges; others include the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Transportation also employ numerous ALJs. Wherever they [...]
When considering wage and hour issues, it’s easy to simply think in terms of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, commonly referred to as the FLSA. The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in both the private and public sectors. However, many states, including Ohio, [...]
The Sixth Circuit has upheld an arbitration agreement in the face of arguments that the Federal Arbitration Act was displaced by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the National Labor Relations Act. The case arises from a lawsuit brought by several current and former employees of Kelly Services, Inc. The firm provides outsourcing and [...]
An Arbitrator recently held that Union’s failure to timely appeal to a grievance step prior to arbitration, resulted in dismissal of case. The decision, Erie County, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services v. AFSCME Local 3616. This case proceeded under the authority of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement which presented the grievance and arbitration [...]
On September 25, 2018, the Cuyahoga County Council passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The legislation also creates a three-member Cuyahoga County Commission on Human Rights. While 20 other localities in Ohio have similar laws, now Ohio’s second largest county by population becomes the first [...]
The United States Supreme Court recently heard arguments on a question regarding whether the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) applies to government employers with fewer than 20 employees. The case is an appeal of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision ruling the ADEA applies to all public employers regardless of the number [...]