The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) returned to a longstanding precedent recently by holding that employers violate the National Labor Relations Act if they offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the Act. This holding means that employers who use severance agreements should review them to make sure that the usual provisions that broadly require non-disparagement (the employee will not say anything negative about the employer, their products, etc.) and confidentiality are not overly broad. Employers should review their employee handbooks to check for similar overbreadth.

The severance agreement at issue in the case of McClaren Macomb contained overly broad non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses that the Board said tended to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees’ exercise of the Section 7 rights. Under Section 7, non-managerial and non-supervisor employees have the right to engage in concerted activity for mutual aid or protection. The Board held that non-disclosure provisions that contain a non-disparagement clause that advised the employees that they are prohibited from making statements that could disparage or harm the image of the employer and their officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives are unlawful. In addition, the confidentiality clause at issue advised employees that they are prohibited from disclosing the terms of the agreement to anyone except for a spouse or professional advisor, unless compelled by law to do so.

The ruling means that although severance agreements are not banned, they may need to be modified. Employers who use severance agreements should consider revising them to narrow the scope of non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions so that they pass muster under the Act. The general counsel for the NLRB has recently written that confidentiality clauses that are narrowly-tailored to restrict the dissemination of proprietary or trade secret information for a period of time based on legitimate business justifications may be lawful. However, confidentiality clauses that have a chilling effect that precludes employees from assisting others about workplace issues or from communicating with the NLRB, a union, legal forums, the media or other third parties are likely unlawful.

In Conclusion, What should the astute employer do in light of the most recent NLRB ruling? It is not necessary to abandon severance agreements altogether. Rather, an employer should review their severance agreement forms and employee handbooks to make sure that the provisions relating to confidentiality and non-disparagement are consistent with the new rulings of the NLRB.

Please contact one of our experienced employment attorneys for additional assistance in reviewing your policies.

If you are an employer with pregnant employees, employees returning from parental leave, or employees who have had a child in the last two years, then please read on.

Effective on December 29, 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (also known as the “PUMP Act”) expanded protections for breastfeeding mothers. Effective in June 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) will provide new protections for pregnant employees.

The PWFA is a new law that requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship. The PWFA only applies to accommodations. Existing laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (“DWD”) already make it Illegal to fire or otherwise discriminate against workers on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

The PWFA goes in to effect on June 27, 2023. Before then, the EEOC is required to issue regulations to carry out the law. This act requires employers to provide a temporary reasonable accommodation to workers with medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, barring an undue hardship to the employer. Many lawmakers believe that the new law will close a gap, because present laws do not necessarily recognize pregnancy alone as a disability entitled to accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The act applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

The legislation is an attempt to provide “common-sense protections for pregnant workers, like extra bathroom breaks or a stool for workers who stand, so they can continue working while not putting extra strain ”on their bodies, said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

Under the PWFA Employers Cannot:

• Require an employee to accept an accommodation without a discussion about the accommodation between the employee and the employer.
• Deny a job or other employment opportunities to a qualified employee or applicant based on the person’s need for reasonable accommodations.
• Require an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided that would let the employee keep working.
• Retaliate against an individual for reporting or opposing unlawful discrimination under the PWFA or participating in a PWFA proceeding such as an investigation.
• Interfere with any individual’s rights under the PWFA.

The PUMP Act expands workplace lactation accommodations to exempt (salaried) workers. It is effective immediately for companies with more than 50 Employees nationwide. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires that employers provide a reasonable time to express breastmilk, but it applies only to hourly employees.
Here are the primary features of the PUMP Act:

• Applies to all employees—exempt and non-exempt—with the exception of certain airline employees.
• Reasonable pumping breaks must be provided to breastfeeding employees for two years after a child’s birth.
• An employer is not required to compensate non-exempt employees for pumping breaks as long as such employees are relieved of all work during that break. If the employee is not completely relieved of work duties during the entirety of the pump break, then the time must be compensated.
• The location for pumping breaks must be somewhere other than a bathroom and must be private and free from intrusion.
• If an employee believes her employer is violating the PUMP Act, the employee must provide notice and allow the employer ten days to Remedy the matter.

What does all of this mean for employers?
Now is the time for employers to take the following actions:

• Updating existing personnel policies.
• Train managers on the changes under the new laws.
• Create a process, similar to the ADA, to create interactive dialogues for pregnancy-related limitations.

The PWFA and the PUMP Act expand the rights available to pregnant workers but use the guidance of present laws as a way to promote compliance by employers. Employers should review the new laws to ensure that they are integrating the new laws into their handbooks. If you have any questions about these new acts please call our office to speak with our experienced employment law attorney.