In E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, the Supreme Court decided the burden of proof an employer must meet to prove that an employee is exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The...more
On November 15, 2024, a Texas Federal Court struck down the U.S. Department of Labor’s Final Rule increasing the salary threshold for “white collar” overtime exemptions. The Court’s decision applies to employers nationwide...more
11/19/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Popular ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The U.S. Department of Labor announced its anticipated Final Rule increasing the salary threshold level needed for employees to be exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act....more
4/24/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
There are few areas in employment law that remain in a greater state of flux than the question of who a business can properly classify as an independent contractor. The differences between federal and state law can make the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a proposed rulemaking that would significantly limit the ability of employers to treat employees as exempt from federal overtime requirements. Under existing law, employers may only be...more
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 has passed Congress and President Biden is expected to sign it into law. The Act invalidates the enforcement of pre-dispute arbitration...more
2/18/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment
On January 13, 2021, the Supreme Court issued an Order staying OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard requiring employers with 100 or more employees to adopt COVID-19 Vaccination and test policies (referred to as the “Large...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 6, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order temporarily enjoining OSHA from implementing its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring large employers to adopt vaccine...more
11/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021 President Biden issued a series of Executive Orders that expanded mandatory vaccination requirements for COVID-19 and will apply to over 100 million U.S. workers. This includes vaccine mandates for...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued new Guidance directed to employers addressing restroom policies and the use of employee preferred pronouns. Although this technical assistance guidance does...more
On March 30, 2021 Governor Northam signed the “Virginia Overtime Wage Act” into law. This new legislation, which goes into effect on July 1, 2021, continues the Commonwealth’s pro-employee push and will create new wage and...more
A bevy of new Virginia employment laws went into effect in July 2020. These include new laws related to pregnancy accommodation, expanding worker remedies for discrimination and harassment, and limiting the ability of...more
In a landmark ruling, the United States Supreme Court held that the prohibitions against sex discrimination found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to sexual orientation and sexual identity. The Court issued...more
6/18/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new poster that sets forth the requirements of the new family and sick leave laws mandated in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Small businesses (fewer than 500 employees)...more
Do I have to pay my employees time they are taking sick leave because of COVID-19?
Generally no, unless your existing policies and procedures require you to do so. At the moment, Virginia does not have any state laws...more
On March 7th the Department of Labor issued a long expected proposed rule change on the salary-level threshold for exempt or “salaried” employees. Under the proposed rule, the salary threshold for exempt employees would...more
3/12/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The guide, written by Sands Anderson’s Employment Law Team and edited by attorney C. Michael DeCamps, provides summaries of key Virginia employment statutes and principles of employment law. The summaries are not intended to...more
2/5/2018
/ At-Will Employment ,
COBRA ,
Court Appearances ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance ,
Minors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment ,
Workplace Safety
President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor Andrew Puzder has withdrawn from consideration from the position. In a written statement, Mr. Puzder said...more
The Trump Administration announced the appointment of EEOC Commissioner Victoria Lipnic to serve as acting head of the Agency. Lipnic, a Republican, has served as a Commissioner since 2010 when she was appointed by President...more
There has been no shortage of prognostication and opinion as to how the new Trump Administration will alter the legal landscape in numerous areas. Here, we look at five ways employers may be impacted as the new Administration...more
Yesterday, a Texas federal judge put a halt on the new overtime rules spearheaded by President Obama’s administration that were to take effect on December 1. Businesses everywhere have gone into overtime to prepare for the...more