It's another new year, and like prior years, today's episode identifies the 5 biggest labor and employment questions and issues that employers should be watching in 2025....more
This past Friday, November 15, 2024, a federal court in Texas struck down on a nationwide basis the U.S. Department of Labor's 2024 regulations that significantly increased the minimum salary thresholds for federal law...more
Where are things right now with the injunction decisions on the FTC’s non-compete ban and the DOL’s new overtime exemption regulations? Today’s new episode provides the latest updates, while also discussing the Supreme...more
In this second part of a two-part series, Michael Schmidt discusses the FTC's new ban on non-competes from yesterday, the DOL's new overtime exemption rule from yesterday, and OSHA's recently-released "walkaround rule." Hear...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
Today's episode is the first of two parts wrapping up the big developments and trends coming out of the Summer of 2023. In this Part 1, we discuss the United States Department of Labor's proposed new overtime exemption rule:...more
In this second of two parts to start the new year, Michael Schmidt, vice chair of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, addresses the ten issues that employers should be thinking about in 2023....more
As we approach the unofficial start to Summer 2022, today's new episode addresses the 10 issues that should be on the radar of all employers....more
5/31/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Caregivers ,
Civil Service Reform Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Equal pay issues are becoming more prominent across the country, and significant new legislation in Illinois is worth noting (whether or not the company does business there). Joining Michael Schmidt to discuss the law and its...more
In today's new episode, Michael Schmidt discusses big new developments: updates on mandatory vaccine and mask policies, new action to ban non-competes, a big free speech decision, New York regulatory updates, and a proposed...more
This episode addresses significant changes from OSHA and the DOL, the new and expanded FFCRA, and the first state to require paid leave to get vaccinated....more
3/22/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In today’s new episode, Michael Schmidt is joined by a panel of five partners in Cozen O’Connor’s Labor and Employment Department to discuss the likely impact of a President Biden administration on key labor and employment...more
11/16/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Health and Safety ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Relief Measures ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In this episode, Mike Schmidt discusses why employers should create complaint policies and procedures for wage and hour issues, and not just for harassment, discrimination, and retaliation concerns.
...more
Today’s new episode analyzes this morning’s federal court decision that invalidates four separate (significant) portions of the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulations implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act...more
8/4/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Required Documentation ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
On March 18, President Trump signed the new federal Coronavirus legislation providing significant changes to the FMLA and paid sick leave requirements (effective April 2, 2020). Mike Schmidt is joined in this episode by...more
3/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave Act ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
This special weekend episode (Part 1 of 2) summarizes brand new emergency legislation that passed the U.S. House of Representatives over the weekend that will provide immediate changes to the FMLA and paid sick leave laws for...more
3/15/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Today’s episode looks at 6 key developments that every company should be thinking about: Coronavirus preparedness, the elimination of “at will”, post-shift security check compensation, a win for salary history bans,...more
The New York City Council has proposed additional legislation that would have a major impact on businesses falling within the broad definition of “fast food establishments” and has scheduled a hearing on the bills for...more
2/12/2020
/ Advance Notice ,
American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
At-Will Employment ,
City Councils ,
Covered Entities ,
Employee Rights ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoffs ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Private Right of Action ,
Punitive Damages ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Penalties ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules ,
Wrongful Termination
In this first new episode of 2020 (Season 4), we look at the 15 hot topics your company should have on your list to think about....more
1/10/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Host Michael Schmidt is joined by Rebecca Nathanson, the Director of the Anti-Retaliation Unit and Counsel to Labor Standards at the New York Department of Labor to discuss issues ranging from the Department’s investigation...more
This episode offers the top 10 new employment laws coming out of New York in the first half of 2019. It is significant for New York employers AND for those employers wondering what trends will be reaching their other...more
7/29/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Breastfeeding ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Rights ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mayor de Blasio ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
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
In today's new episode, experts from the Retail Industry Leaders Association and ManpowerGroup Solutions discuss how today's climate of employment regulations (including the new overtime rule, predictive scheduling, and gig...more
3/25/2019
/ Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
E-Commerce ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retention ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Online Distribution ,
Recruitment Incentives ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Retailers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
This episode outlines the key components of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new proposed overtime rule. Also, antitrust attorney David Reichenberg joins to discuss the antitrust issues that cannot be ignored when looking at...more
3/18/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Salary ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
This episode looks at recent employment law developments that may make you go “hmmm”: a 4-day workweek, outright bans on mandatory arbitration and office gossip, hairstyle as a protected characteristic, and an update on the...more
3/1/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hostile Environment ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
New Rules ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules