With Election Day just around the corner, we’ll be highlighting some of the issues facing employers in a two-part series on elections and the workplace. In this first installment, we’ll look at employee protections around...more
10/5/2020
/ 501(c)(3) ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Free Speech ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Political Speech ,
Presidential Elections ,
Social Media ,
State Labor Laws
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled a proposed rule on September 22, 2020 to clarify whether a worker is or isn’t an independent contractor for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The proposed rule adds a...more
On September 2, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that employees bear the burden of proof on whether bonuses should have been included in the regular rate of pay for purposes of calculating overtime...more
In an opinion letter issued on August 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor restated its position that an employee’s hours need not fluctuate above and below 40 hours to qualify for the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method of...more
On August 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published in the Federal Register a final rule that substantially revises its practices with respect to guidance documents. The “Promoting Regulatory Openness through...more
On August 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (“FAB”) providing guidance on employers’ obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to track...more
8/25/2020
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Effective July 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will pull back on seeking liquidated damages in pre-litigation settlements of wage claims and investigations. The change in policy, announced in Field Assistance...more
For almost 80 years, it has been the law that an overtime-eligible employee whose hours fluctuate from week to week and who agrees to receive a fixed weekly salary covering all hours of work is entitled to a halftime premium...more
On May 19, 2020, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) implemented a final rule withdrawing partial lists of establishments that it previously interpreted as either having “no retail concept” or...more
5/23/2020
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Amended Rules ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Over-Time ,
Relief Measures ,
Retail Sales ,
Retailers ,
Sales Commissions ,
Salespersons ,
Wage and Hour
New York State and Washington D.C. have enacted legislation regarding paid time off to vote. The details of these new laws are summarized below....more
As previously announced, the New York City Council has introduced an expansive package of COVID-19 bills that, among other things, propose sweeping protections for “essential” workers. The significance of this proposed...more
5/1/2020
/ At-Will Employment ,
City Councils ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retention ,
Employee Rights ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Premium Pay ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Safe Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
On April 9, 2020, Empire State Development (“ESD”) released updated guidance for determining whether a business or service is “essential” under recent executive orders issued by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. These orders,...more
On December 6, 2019, a divided Second Circuit panel concluded that settlement proposals in accepted offers of judgment under FRCP 68 are not subject to judicial review and approval. Mei Xing Yu et al. v. Hasaki Restaurant...more
On November 20, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method of calculating overtime pay owed to salaried workers is prohibited by state law. Chevalier v. General Nutrition Centers...more
As we previously reported, Nevada has enacted a personal leave law, which, effective January 1, 2020, will require private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada to provide certain employees working in the state with...more
11/19/2019
/ Accrual Method ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Labor Commissioners ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Seasonal Workers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Temporary Employees
As we previously reported, effective October 30, 2019, Westchester County, NY employers are required to provide paid leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking (“safe time”). Leave under the...more
On January 1, 2020, the new federal overtime rule takes effect. Other than in states with already-higher minimum salaries for exemption (which include California and, for certain types of employees, New York), employers will...more
9/26/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule amending the overtime regulations today, without any significant changes from the proposed rule the agency issued in March 2019. Here’s the bottom line....more
9/25/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Obama Administration ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Sales Commissions ,
Trump Administration ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
2019 has been a busy year for developments in workplace law. With the current administration in Washington taking a very passive stance on regulation of employers, States and Cities have led the charge to expand workers'...more
9/11/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Toledo, Ohio is the latest jurisdiction (and the second city in Ohio) to enact a law that will prohibit employers from asking job applicants about salary history....more
7/16/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Private Right of Action ,
Remedies ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws
The Colorado legislature has been quite active in recent weeks, passing several new employment laws, many of which reflect nationwide trends. Among other things, the new laws address discriminatory pay disparities, salary...more
7/8/2019
/ Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws
Continuing the trend of states passing increasingly progressive employment regulations, Nevada recently enacted three new laws addressing paid leave, workplace drug testing, and minimum wage. ...more
The New York state legislature has passed a bill that would allow employees making certain claims for unpaid wages to obtain a lien against their employers’ property for the value of the claim, inclusive of liquidated...more
7/1/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Call-In Pay ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Liens ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Minimum Wage ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Personal Liability ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Shareholders ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages
The “Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2019” (H.R. 3197, introduced by Rep. Mark Takano of California) would legislate, for the first time in U.S. history, the minimum salary for exemption under the EAP exemptions—a matter that...more
Kansas City, Missouri is the latest jurisdiction (and the second Midwestern city in recent weeks) to enact a law that will prohibit employers from asking job applicants about salary history....more