On March 21st, the governor of Virginia signed into law an access to personnel records law. Under the law, every employer, upon receipt of a written request from a current or former employee or employee’s attorney furnish a copy of all records or papers retained by the employer in any format reflecting

1. The employee’s dates of employment with the employer.
2. The employee’s wages or salary during employment.
3. The employee’s job description and job title during employment.
4. any injuries sustained by the employee during the employment with the employer.

A couple of weeks ago the National Labor Relations Board issued a significant 3-to-1 decision for a case involving the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The board ruled that the Medical Center could permissibly forbid a union from coming in and soliciting the employees of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center public cafeteria if the prohibition would be equally applicable to any other entity seeking to solicit or distribute literature in the same area. This case is significant because it overturned a decades-long decision, which held that unions could, in fact, engage in solicitation and distribution in a public cafeteria or public area maintained by an employer.

Finally, two new pieces of legislation were recently introduced in the Maryland legislature that passed in the Senate but not in the House. Senate Bill 854 was passed by the Senate and it would have stated that a covered or dependent employee is not entitled to workers’ compensation or associated benefits if his or her accidental injury or occupational disease was caused solely by medical cannabis use, and such use was not pursuant to a legitimate medical prescription. The second Senate Bill 863, which passed the Senate but did not pass the House, would have prohibited employers from requiring employees or applicants to disclose their use of marijuana and cannabis.

Questions about these topics from this week’s Telebrief?

Contact Howard Kurman at hkurman@offitkurman.com or 410-209-6417.

About the Telebriefs®

The Telebriefs^® are 30-minute, information-packed phone calls geared towards executives, HR directors, supervisors, managers, and business owners. Join Howard K. Kurman, as he discusses employment law developments occurring over the past two weeks that will most significantly impact employers nationwide. These twice-monthly phone calls are an easy way to stay current and compliant with the latest employment law developments that will significantly affect you and your company. The goal is to provide information and insights to help executives stay current with the latest workplace law developments and in front of trends, to enable proactive policy-making and management. Our guarantee: You will learn something useful on every call!

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ABOUT THE PRESENTER

hkurman@offitkurman.com | 410-209-6417

Howard K. Kurman is an employment attorney. Mr. Kurman regularly counsels clients on all aspects of proactive employment/labor issues. He represents employers ranging in size from as small as 20 employees to those employers with geographically disparate locations consisting of over 4,000 employees. Mr. Kurman assures, through regular contact with his clients, that they promulgate and maintain the most effective employment policies that will, to the extent possible, minimize their legal exposure in today’s litigious workplace. Mr. Kurman offers advice on employee handbooks, employment agreements, and covenants not to compete as well as confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. Previously, Mr. Kurman was the chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group.

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