Troutman Pepper Locke's Labor + Employment Group

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Many in-house counsel and human resources officials are aware that their company, as a federal contractor, is required to engage in affirmative action.  However, many are unaware of the significant risks associated with a compliance audit of their affirmative action program by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”).

Earlier this week, we discussed how when drafting or reviewing a restrictive covenant, few are likely to devote any significant attention to the provisions in the “Miscellaneous” section of the agreement, and how this is a significant mistake.  In particular, we discussed how forum selection clauses are extremely important when drafting restrictive covenant agreements.

In this post, we are considering Choice of Law and Arbitration provisions.

When drafting or reviewing a restrictive covenant, you are likely to spend a significant amount of time considering its specific purpose and scope.

Few, however, are likely to devote any significant attention to the remaining provisions in document, including the likely “Miscellaneous” portion that is almost always a part of the agreement.  This is a mistake.  There are numerous provisions contained in this section that can, in some circumstances, be outcome-determinative.  Below is a consideration of three such provisions and their importance to your agreement.

As part of President Obama’s “Open Government Initiative,” the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a new rule that would require employers with more than 250 employees to publicly file their injury and illness logs on a quarterly basis. OSHA has also proposed that all employers in industries with high injury rates publicly file their injury and illness reports once a year.

On November 19, 2013, a trade association representing construction-related firms, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to block a final rule from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that would require federal contractors to establish a seven-percent goal for the employment of workers with disabilities. 

On September 24, the OFCCP published the final rules revising the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 that had been announced in late August.  The final rules become effective March 24, 2014.  Employers should start planning…

In August, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released major revisions to the regulations on the laws requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in affirmative action for disabled individuals and veterans. Our lawyers, Richard Gerakitis, Ashley Hager and Jim McCabe, recently presented a webinar on the latest revisions to these laws.  See the presentation below or click here for our advisory on the new regulations.

In a bold move by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (which covers Georgia, Florida and Alabama), the Court has overruled the long-standing precedent of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (“Commission”) that when a supervisor engages in safety-related misconduct, his or her “rogue conduct” is imputed to the employer.

After reconsidering it’s previous ruling – discussed here – the all-male Iowa Supreme Court issued a new opinion and affirmed that a boss could lawfully fire an attractive employee in order to allay his wife’s fear about potential adultery.

In its initial ruling, the court said that Dr. Knight terminated…