DoL issues new rule interpreting FFCRA leave provisions, including intermittent leave and notice of leave.
Labor and Employment
Court Denies Unemployment Benefits to Striking Employees
In somewhat of a novelty decision, the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Ohio has upheld a trial court decision affirming the denial of unemployment benefits to 51 non-teaching employees who went on strike after OAPSE and the Board of Education were unable to reach an agreement on a successor contract. In Ohio, employees are […]
Schwendeman v. Marietta City Schools
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently ruled in favor of a school district when an employee brought disability discrimination and retaliation claims after he was terminated for working for the local police department while being out on sick leave. Schwendeman v. Marietta City Schools, S.D. Ohio No. 2:18-CV-588, 2020 […]
U.S. Supreme Court: Title VII Prohibits Termination Based on Sexual Orientation
On June 15, 2020, in the consolidated matters of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, Altitude Express v. Zarda, and R.G.& G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, et al, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that an employer who fires an individual employee merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII […]
Tenth Appellate District: Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation practitioners and school benefits employees alike know that temporary total disability, and particularly the concept of voluntary abandonment of employment, are difficult areas of Workers’ Compensation law in Ohio. The Tenth Appellate District could not have framed the difficulty more succinctly than it did in a recent decision wherein the Court stated the […]
Revised Orders Issued by the Ohio Department of Health Director
On April 30th, 2020, the Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton, issued two revised orders that will impact school operations at least in the short term. These orders will cover school operations through June 30th at a minimum. It’s a wrap – concluding school operations for 2019-2020. The first order directs schools to […]
COVID-19 Update: Changes in Unemployment Law
Districts should expect to see a rise in unemployment claims due to the current pandemic. Ohio received 187,000 claims during the week of March 15-21. Substitutes, in particular, are likely to make claims during this time. Governor DeWine has issued an order (EO 2020-03D) to ease the process of obtaining unemployment benefits. Employees who are […]
COVID-19 Update: Unemployment Coverage for Public Entities
Many public employers are considering staffing adjustments in light of the coronavirus and its impact on available work. For those employees not covered under contracts that must be paid in the case of an “epidemic or other public calamity” pursuant to RC 3319.08(B) and 3319.081(G), layoffs are being contemplated. In order to have all the […]
Unemployment Claims and “Independent Contractors”
Generally, employees in Ohio are eligible to receive unemployment benefits if they are laid off from their place of employment. However, under Ohio law, if you are an “independent contractor,” you are precluded from receiving those benefits. The Eleventh District Court of Appeals recently held that a truck driver was an independent contractor as opposed […]
Facebook and First Amendment Rights
Like students, teachers do not shed their constitutional right to free speech while at school. However, their rights are not without limits as the Sixth Circuit demonstrated recently when it issued a ruling upholding termination of a teacher. In Sensabaugh v. Halliburton, the District’s head football coach posted concerns on Facebook about the conditions he […]