Employment Law News

All-domain defense and technologies partner HII announced today that Stephen Fitts has been promoted to vice president of contracts and pricing at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division. Fitts succeeds Eric Crooker who assumed a new role in March as vice president of infrastructure and sustainability.Fitts will have overall responsibility for contracts, estimating and pricing, and export/import licensing and compliance for the Ingalls shipyard, and will report to Keith Munn, Ingalls’…

London-based international law firm Watson Farley & Williams has advised TUI Cruises GmbH on its acquisition of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises from TUI AG for US$1.3bn, excluding net debt.According to the the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in summer 2020. The deal includes the acquisition of HL Cruises’ luxury and expedition fleet, consisting of two five-star plus luxury vessels and three expedition cruise ships, by TUI Cruises. This expands TUI Cruises’ existing fleet to twelve cruise ships, which will enable it to participate in the growth of the cruise industry as the…

Wasteful, Unwarranted and does not address the ‘Marijuana Challenge.’On December 28, 2018, the United States Coast Guard published a notice in the Federal Register alerting the maritime industry of its determination to increase the minimum annual rate of random drug testing for 2019 from twenty-five percent (25%) to fifty percent (50%). American Maritime Safety, Inc. (AMS), a non-profit industry consortium that facilitates the industry’s compliance with these regulations, regrets the Coast Guard’s decision.AMS counts as members over 400 maritime employers including cruise liners…

Eric Crooker has been promoted to vice president of contracts and pricing for Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division.Effective immediately, Crooker will have overall responsibility for contracts, estimating and pricing, and export/import licensing and compliance for the Ingalls shipyard and will report to Tom Stiehle, Ingalls’ vice president, business management, and chief financial officer.Crooker succeeds Don Perkins, who will retire from Ingalls on July 1.Crooker joined HII in 2012 and served as a senior counsel at Ingalls.

When is bad harassment prevention training worse than no training at all? When it comes with a wagging finger shaming employees whose only sin is being a little rough around the edges. When it emboldens opportunistic employees to seek an advantage they do not deserve. When it causes managers to cravenly subordinate legitimate operational considerations to political correctness. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not mandate a general civility code. Nor does it prohibit all verbal or physical harassment in the workplace.

Striking Southern California port truckers who accuse shipping companies of wage theft took their grievances on Friday to City Hall in Los Angeles, where they gained new political backing for their cause. The City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution voicing support for the truckers and calling on the companies doing business at the city-owned Port of Los Angeles to abide by federal and state labor laws. The truckers also delivered a petition bearing 27,000 signatures from members of the pubic to Mayor Eric Garcetti's office urging him to weigh in on the drivers' behalf. Scores of drivers have been on strike this week against…

Truckers who haul freight from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will go on strike against four ground-shipment companies on Monday, a Teamsters union official said, in a move that could revive labor tension at the nation's busiest cargo hub. Delegations of drivers planned to notify the companies of their intent to strike at 6 a.m. Pacific time, with picket lines going up immediately at the companies' truck yards, Teamsters spokeswoman Barb Maynard told Reuters. The strikers also plan to picket marine terminals, rail yards and other locations where the companies dispatch trucks, Maynard said. The truckers accuse the companies of wage theft by illegally misclassifying them as independent contractors…

Maritime recruitment specialist, Spinnaker Consulting has warned shipping firms that they could face legal action if they do not apply UK standards to foreign workers. Overseas workers who spend some working time in the UK qualify for the same employment protection rights as resident UK workers. Writing in the latest issue of Changing Course, Spinnaker's monthly e-mail newsletter, managing director Phil Parry says, "A London employment tribunal ruled last month that foreign workers can claim rights under English employment law if they have spent some of their time working in the UK. The decision arises out of legal changes made in 1999 implementing an EU directive on the posting of workers.

London-based law firm Lawrence Graham has launched LG Corporate Investigations - a multi-disciplinary team of experts who advise clients on the potential for corporate risk, and implement solutions to contain and minimize it, while also offering a full investigation service for those faced with possible fraud or regulatory breach. The team is also ideally positioned to advise businesses or directors who may require independent advice - both independent of the company and its existing advisers. Led by partner Andrew Witts, a specialist in corporate fraud and international asset tracing, the team brings together the firm's wide-ranging expertise in areas including: corporate governance…

The House Committee on Homeland Security conducted an oversight hearing on the Implementation of the TWIC Program. In his prepared remarks, Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) expressed his concern that the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program is far behind schedule and that the estimates of the number of workers affected are much understated. Testimony was for the record, as the hearing was interrupted by a floor vote. Rear Admiral Brian Salerno, USCG, explained how the program is being rolled out on a port-by-port basis and that progress is being made with regard to the card reader technology. Ms. Cathleen Berrick…