California employers will need to increase pay transparency beginning January 1, 2023. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1162 (“S.B. 1162”) on September 27, 2022, amending California Labor Code § 432.3.
Prior to...more
On October 1, 2022, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas ruled Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance, directed at protections for LGBTQ+ employees in general workplace policies, was...more
Employers in approximately a dozen states and twice as many cities and counties should expect significant hikes in minimum wage rates for 2023. Many of these hikes are due to state and local laws which account for...more
On September 30, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law (Senate Bill 951 or “SB951”) providing for increased benefits for workers taking paid family leave. The existing California Paid Family Leave law...more
On September 6, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a draft rule replacing and significantly altering the Trump-era 2020 joint-employer standard. Standard for Determining Joint-Employer Status...more
Employers in approximately a dozen states and twice as many cities and counties should expect significant hikes in minimum wage rates for 2023. Many of these hikes are due to state and local laws which account for...more
On August 29, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a precedent-shifting decision ruling that it was unlawful for Tesla Inc. to prohibit employees from wearing shirts bearing union insignia....more
On January 1, 2023, New York City employers will have to comply with a new law aimed at preventing bias in artificial intelligence hiring tools. These tools, which include algorithms and software geared towards finding...more
Recent case law continues to develop the scope of legal protections for transgender individuals. One month after a Texas court enjoined the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) from enforcing its 2021 guidance...more
In July, the Michigan Court of Claims invalidated the State’s current laws regarding minimum wage and sick leave. As we noted in an earlier alert, the fallout from this ruling could equate to a significant increase in the...more
The Trump-era National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) “made multiple overlapping errors” in determining that Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. (“BFI”) does not have a duty to bargain with the...more
8/4/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Obama Administration ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Right to Control ,
Teamsters ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions
A Michigan court recently held that the current versions of the state’s minimum wage and paid sick leave statutes are unconstitutional due to legislative foul play, immediately voiding the existing laws. Mothering Justice v....more
On June 15, 2022, in Viking River Cruises vs. Moriana, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 (with Justice Thomas the lone dissenter) that employers can compel arbitration of an employee's individual claims regarding labor code...more
6/17/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana ,
Waivers
Employers in Maryland will soon have to fund and administer a new paid leave benefit to employees in the state. Last week, Maryland’s legislature overrode a veto from Governor Larry Hogan to push through the Time to Care Act,...more
The chief lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) wants to ban mandatory meetings called by employers during worktime to dissuade employees from joining unions, calling them an “unlawful threat” to...more
On April 6, 2022, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 47 (“SB 47”) into law, signaling significant changes to overtime exemptions in the state and restructuring the procedure by which an employee may join a...more
On March 30, 2022, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana, in which the Court is poised to decide whether the Federal Arbitration Act compels enforceability of an individualized arbitration...more
A bill that would prohibit most pre-dispute mandatory arbitration agreements is one step closer to becoming law. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (“FAIR Act”) yesterday...more
The independent contractor test developed by the Republican-majority National Labor Relations Board under President Trump actually resulted in a higher rate of workers being classified as employees protected by federal labor...more
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed, with wide bipartisan support, the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (HR 4445).” This landmark legislation amends the Federal...more
On February 4, 2022, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order (“EO”) requiring project labor agreements (each a “PLA”) with unions on all federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more (defined in the EO as...more
Key Takeaways of the Court’s Rulings: OSHA cannot enforce its vax-or-test ETS covering all employers with 100 or more employees, and employers have no obligations under it. However, the CMS mandate affecting certain health...more
1/14/2022
/ Administrative Authority ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Democrat-majority National Labor Relations Board readied for 2022 by announcing plans to confront two President Trump-era legal tests - one that determines whether an independent contractor is actually an employee...more
1/10/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Definition ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Obama Administration ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
On December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a nationwide stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) which requires employers with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccination or regular testing of...more
Generally, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) has routinely been enforced by the balance of the nation’s courts over the years, as it codifies accepted deference to parties’ contracts and agreements and has been held to...more