Michael Schmidt is joined by Hope Pordy, Esq., a Partner with the law firm of Spivak Lipton in New York, who represents employees and unions in a wide range of labor and employment matters. Hope provides insight on the...more
In today's new episode, Michael Schmidt interviews high-level officials from the United States Department of Labor (Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda), the United States EEOC (Commissioner Andrea Lucas), and the NLRB (General...more
Michael Schmidt, Vice Chair of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, is joined by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo to discuss the Board's February 21, 2023 decision in McLaren Macomb invalidating certain...more
Today's episode analyzes the NLRB's decision to invalidate standard clauses in severance agreements, a Supreme Court decision providing overtime to a highly compensated employee, guidance on remote work and the FLSA/FMLA...more
In today's episode, Michael Schmidt of Cozen O'Connor interviews EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, and OSHA Assistant Secretary Douglas Parker about today's hot topics and agency...more
Today's new episode looks at the five developments you need to know now, including the new proposed independent contractor rule, the EEOC's new required poster, NLRB efforts to monitor your monitoring, salary transparency...more
This episode discusses the NLRB's proposed new September 2022 joint employer test in the context of the historical shifting political winds, and what it may mean for employers....more
In today's new episode, Michael Schmidt is joined by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo to discuss significant recent activity at the Board, including her position that employer "captive audience meetings" held with...more
The past several weeks have seen significant action from the major federal agencies involved with employment law: EEOC, NLRB, DOL, and OSHA. In today's new episode, Mike Schmidt will highlight the direction these agencies...more
4/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Podcast host Michael Schmidt is joined by Dan Johns, a partner in Cozen O'Connor's Labor and Employment Department, to talk about 3 significant NLRB decisions affecting all employers in the areas of (1) employee use of...more
2/13/2020
/ Confidentiality Policies ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Union Dues ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Workplace Investigations
Today's episode discusses FIVE new opinion letters and proposed rules issued by the United States Department of Labor that offer much-needed help to the employment community on issues of significance....more
4/25/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Comment Period ,
Community Service ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Opinion Letter ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rate of Pay ,
Voluntary Participation ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
This episode presents Part 2 of 2 on workplace issues when employees use marijuana, and also discusses two significant developments from the NLRB involving independent contractors and individual employee gripes....more
1/31/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Drug Possession ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Right to Control
This special episode discusses the new sexual harassment training and policy requirements imposed by New York State and New York City (following a brief discussion of a significant development on joint employer liability)....more
9/26/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Joint Liability ,
New Rules ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Popular ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII
We're back! This brand new episode addresses the 10 developments you may have missed from this past summer of 2018, including employees secretly recording the workplace, new non-compete legislation, the unstoppable #MeToo...more
9/11/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Opinion Letter ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media Policy ,
State Labor Laws ,
Video Recordings ,
Wage and Hour
This episode welcomes the start of Spring by addressing hot labor and employment developments on e-mail curfews, the DOL’s new voluntary self-audit program, social media discovery in lawsuits, employees losing their...more
Happy Anniversary! This podcast started one year ago today on February 1, 2017 with Howard Schweitzer prognosticating about what employers can expect with a new President Trump Administration. One year to the day, Howard...more
2/1/2018
/ Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Immigration Reform ,
Infrastructure ,
Job Duties ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
From federal agency changes to anticipated developments in sexual harassment, paid leave, overtime, and marijuana use, this episode of Employment Law Now provides ten issues that employers should resolve to understand in the...more
1/8/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FMLA Abuse ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
IRS ,
Marijuana ,
Maternity Leave ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Paternity Leave ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Protected Class ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Tax Reform ,
Transgender
Thought 2017 would end quietly? The month of December has seen several stunning decisions by the NLRB which impact Obama-era precedent, and which will impact employers and employees going forward in 2018. Joining this episode...more
12/22/2017
/ Boeing ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Obama Administration ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Unions ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
Good faith and timing means everything in employment law. This episode of Employment Law Now provides an update from DC, discusses questions employers should be asking in today’s climate of troubling sexual harassment news,...more
12/4/2017
/ Complaint Procedures ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Good Faith ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Obscenity ,
Protected Class ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
This episode replays an interview of the podcast host, Mike Schmidt, that was originally aired on SiriusXM Channel 111, The Business Channel. Mike discusses the nature of adverse actions taken by employers due to employee...more
Michael Schmidt of Cozen O'Connor addresses recent trends and noteworthy developments on certain employment policies related to political activity, confidential customer information, FMLA retaliation, and maximum leave...more
8/21/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
But For Causation ,
Confidential Information ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Macy's ,
Mixed Motive Cases ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Social Media Policy ,
Standard of Proof ,
Termination ,
Unpaid Leave ,
UPS ,
Voluntary Participation
Activist NLRB Created More Problems For All Employers in 2016 - What Happens Under President Trump?
During 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) maintained its generally pro-union, anti-employer...more
1/12/2017
/ 21st Century Cures Initiative ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Ambush Election Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Arbitration ,
Asset Seizure ,
Ban the Box ,
Blacklist ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Criminal Investigations ,
DACA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dream Act ,
E-Verify ,
EB-5 ,
EB-5 Regional Centers ,
Educational Institutions ,
EEO-1 ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employees ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Graduate Students ,
H-1B ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
HRA ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Joint Employers ,
Management Rights Clauses ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Mexico ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Obama Administration ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Transparency ,
Persuader Rules ,
Protected Activity ,
Right to Strike ,
Section 7 ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Teaching Assistants ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Witness Statements
This is the time of year to anxiously look forward to all that is anticipated to come in 2017. But it is also the time to look back at all that has happened in 2016. Rather than simply give you links to all of my stimulating...more
This was supposed to be posted last Wednesday morning. All kinds of great insight into what a(nother) Clinton White House would mean for social media and employment law. Then came the required post-election cut and paste....more
Yelp, I need somebody - Yelp, not just anybody - Yelp, you know I need someone - Yelp! My apologies to the Beatles. But the notion that one can’t do it alone and expect to be protected, may just be an apt moral in today’s...more