On July 7, 2021, President Biden announced that he intends to sign an executive order targeting employer-employee non-compete covenants (agreements) nationwide through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC investigates...more
I have previously written about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on force majeure provisions in a commercial contract. A force majeure clause may excuse a party from performing its contract because of an...more
An employee refuses to come in to work or calls in sick or doesn’t show up or call in at all because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are plenty of excuses to do that, some real and some not so real. Many employees have been...more
Days before the January 20, 2021, presidential inauguration, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), under the outgoing administration, issued a flurry of new regulations, rules and opinion letters that could significantly impact...more
2/3/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Regulations ,
New Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Force Majeure (literally a “superior force”) is a contract clause that excuses a party from performing its contract obligations because of unforeseen “Acts of God.” The basic idea is that, if something unforeseen should...more
Many Arizona employees are often subject to non-compete agreements, or “covenants,” in which the employee agrees in advance to not compete with his or her employer for some time after leaving or being terminated by the...more
Arizona employers are often confused by the laws that govern employee terminations in this so-called “right to work” state. The “right to work” has nothing to do with an employee’s right to keep his or her job. What they are...more
10/24/2019
/ At-Will Employment ,
Best Practices ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Notice Requirements ,
Performance Reviews ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Right to Work ,
Severance Pay ,
Supporting Documentation
JW Way Fundamental #16: Don't Be a Jerk -
"Maintain professionalism at all times. Keep emotions under control. Advocating forcefully for the intrests of our clients does not require bullying, condescension, foul language,...more
A growing number of employers monitor and review their employees’ electronic communications, including telephone calls, emails and internet use, while at work or working away from the office. They cite a number of legitimate...more
4/4/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Consent ,
ECPA ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Internet ,
Notice Requirements ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy ,
State Law Claims ,
Stored Communications Act ,
Waiver of Rights ,
Wiretap Act
Employees who depart their employment do not always think about obligations they may continue to have to their former employer. Former employers do, however, and should never underestimate what a departing employee may or...more
You’re young, embarking on a career and very attracted to a co-worker who flirts with you at your new job. You’re sure the two of you were made for each other and, after all, you’re only human. So, you boost the courage to...more
Unlike many states, Arizona has long provided for the recovery of attorney fees, albeit on a discretionary basis, in contested contract disputes. See A.R.S. § 12-341.01(A). The Arizona legislature made clear, however, that...more
9/11/2017
/ Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
AZ Supreme Court ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Prevailing Party ,
Reversal ,
Rule 68 ,
Statutory Requirements
Recently the hot topic in employment law is the widespread misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The courts and the Department of Labor (DOL) have steadily turned up the heat on employers who misclassify...more
7/14/2017
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
Misclassification ,
Obama Administration ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
In a recent article, I warned all employers that government agencies are out to bust them for misclassifying their employees as independent contractors. The prior article discussed the efforts made by the United States...more
Most employers and their legal counsel take pride in rules and policies that have become standard fare in the workplace. Employee Handbooks almost always contain, and certainly should contain, conspicuous provisions that...more
8/24/2015
/ At-Will Employment ,
Confidential Information ,
Disclaimers ,
Employee Handbooks ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Section 7 ,
Standards & Procedures ,
Workplace Communication ,
Workplace Investigations
When interviewing job applicants, there are good questions and bad questions. A good question seeks relevant and helpful information about the person applying for the job and about the applicant’s job qualifications...more
7/20/2015
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Credit Reports ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interviews ,
Job Applicants ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Popular ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religion ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Young Lawyers
Both federal and state labor authorities are hot on the trail of companies who hire employees and call them “independent contractors.” The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has entered into a Memorandum of...more
You settle your case, and the defendant agrees to pay you a lot of money. All that’s left to do is to sign a “standard” settlement agreement prepared by the defendant’s attorney. You get to page 10 and see a paragraph...more
For 20 years, the State of Arizona, its agencies and political subdivisions have held a secret weapon to thwart claims made against them for everything from breach of employment contracts to gross negligence in providing...more