OSHA Expands National Emphasis Program (NEP) for Hazardous Chemicals

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has just announced that Tufts Associated Health Plans Inc. (Tufts) will pay $372,000 to 12 minority employees. The payment is intended to settle the workers’ complaint that they were subjected to retaliation after being hired pursuant to an earlier Conciliation Agreement (CA)…..

New York City will soon become one of only a handful of jurisdictions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “unemployment” status and, in doing so, has adopted arguably the most stringent such law in the United States. As we previously reported our February 2013 issue, the New York City Council recently passed Bill No. 814-A that would modify the New York City Human Rights Law and create a private right of action prohibiting discrimination based on unemployment status.

On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new standard for union representation that requires an employer to recognize and bargain with a union that has demonstrated majority status unless the employer challenges the union’s support through an employer-initiated NLRB election, and does so without committing an unfair labor practice. The ruling, combined with the resuscitation of the Board’s 2014 “ambush election” rules, will make it more difficult for employers to respond to demands for recognition from unions claiming to have majority support from the employees at issue.