NEW LEGISLATION MAKES CITIES LIABLE FOR COURT-APPOINTED COUNSEL ON CITY MISDEMEANORS

Prior to 2015, indigent defendants were not entitled to court-appointed counsel for simple misdemeanors unless the government was seeking actual imprisonment. A defendant did not qualify for court-appointed counsel even if the possible sanction included jail time unless and until the government stated it was seeking jail time in the case. This was the actual imprisonment rule.

MICROCHIPS FOR EMPLOYEES: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE HOTTEST TOPIC IN EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Three Square Market, a mid-size technology company headquartered in River Falls, Wisconsin, made national and international news this week when it was announced that, starting August 1, employees can agree to be “microchipped.” You may have had the same reaction many of us did when you first read that sentence: “a microchip? Like the one my dog has?” But the microchip the employees at Three Square Market are signing up for is light years ahead of the ones we use to keep track of our pets – and a lot more controversial too.

National Labor Relations Board Update

President Trump has nominated Marvin Kaplan, former counsel to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and William Emanuel, a management-side labor attorney, to fill the vacant positions on the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”).

PAID FAMILY LEAVE

The United States Department of Labor says that only 12% of non-government workers have access to paid family leave in the American workforce. Yet, President Trump’s budget proposal included a paid leave benefit for new parents. But, now the President’s daughter (Ivanka Trump–a self-described paid leave champion), says it may be back to the drawing board on the proposal. Ms. Trump met with “bipartisan scholars” during the week of June 5, 2017 (according to the Los Angeles Daily News on June 9, 2017) and reportedly stated the plan in the budget proposal was a “placeholder” but the administration is open to other ideas. A White House official confirmed the plan outlined in the budget was an initial effort and the administration was “open to revising it” according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE MAY 2017

On May 17, 2017, the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board issued rulings in two pending negotiability disputes involving the Columbus Community School District and the Oskaloosa Community School District. The issues in those cases involved the negotiability of salary schedules and supplemental salary schedules under the new provisions of Iowa Code Chapter 20. PERB made the following rulings regarding the specific subjects of bargaining at issue:

Employment Not to Compete Contract

4.2 years. That’s the median number of years that employees stay with an employer as of January 2016 according to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s down from 4.6 years in January 2014 and January 2012. The median number of years had been trending up since 2000 when the median was 3.5 years. Interesting, but what’s that mean for employers? It means you have to deal with employees coming and going. Let’s focus on the going: when an employee leaves, they can take clients with them unless employers take steps to protect those relationships. This can be done through a contract containing a “covenant” (or promise) not to compete. In Iowa, it is a best practice to condition hiring or receiving a promotion on signing the contract not compete. However, courts in this jurisdiction have found that an employee’s continued employment is sufficient consideration to support the contract.